Girls Tennis Concludes Historic Season

The girls tennis program continues to grow and develop under the leadership of head coach Luke Thornewill and assistant head coach Mark Gerardi, and this past weekend their historic season came to an end in the form of a 5-0 loss to Lynnfield, the top seed in the Div. 4 tournament, on the road in the state quarterfinal.

This was the first time the girls tennis team reached the state quarterfinal, and Thornewill couldn’t be more pleased with how his players competed all season long.

“Today we didn’t lose… We had our highest season power ranking ever and we finished #8 in the state tournament and made school history,” Thornewill told his team after Sunday’s match. “And through the season we had a blast. What a journey it has been! As for getting beat by the number one seed (Sunday)…. You all played your hearts out and left it all on the courts and we can ask for no more.”

The girls were led by three seniors in singles with Elis Vieth as their top singles player, Andrea Bunlerssak as the number two singles player, and Vicky Todorova as the third singles player.

Bunlerssak said she thought she played really well and that both sides hit tricky shots.

“My opponent was basically me if I could hit insane angles,” Bunlerssak said. “I got fatigued really badly which is a side effect of my antibiotic unfortunately. I don’t think I played badly but I think I could’ve played a lot better. Our rallies were super long, and we went to deuce a ton so I’m not very mad at the score.” She added that she will be playing club tennis at Wesleyan University next year.

Todorova said while she lost in straight sets 2-6, 0-6, she believes she played the best match of her life.

“I was consistent with my shots all-around, and I was smart about my shot placement,” Todorova said. “My opponent was also very consistent which made us have really long (points). I even surprised myself at how calm and collected I was throughout the match. My footwork was the best it’s ever been. Even though I lost 2-6, 0-6, I was right behind her the whole time.”

Sara Dussault and Sutton LeBrecht made up the Whaler’s first doubles pairing. While they lost in straight sets 2-6, 4-6, They felt they played a solid game and enjoyed their season together as a pairing.

“I think we played very well… they were just a very good team,” Dussault said. “They did good just putting pressure on us at net and lobs, so we had to adjust to their playing style. I think I did a very good job with getting their deep balls and my serves were also my strength. Sutton did a great job up at net. Overall we had a great season together!”

Thornewill said in a message to both he looks forward to seeing how they perform next year as two of the team’s leaders.

“The score today did not reflect the talent you displayed,” Thornewill said to Dussault and LeBrecht. “It was an amazing match to behold. Your teamwork and season record will go down as the best in (program) history. No one has come close. Next year you two will be cornerstones of our program, although perhaps in different team roles.”

Nantucket finished the season with a 10-7 record and earned home victories over Randolph High School (4-1) in the Round of 32 and Advanced Math & Science Charter Academy (5-0) in the Sweet 16. It was the second consecutive season Nantucket finished with double digit wins.