BY AIDAN TYKSINSKI
(PHOTOS BY BJORN BECK)
PHILA.--Once again, The Episcopal Academy (EA) tennis team has ended their season at the top of the standings. This past Tuesday, after a 5-2 win over Lawrenceville and a Penn Charter league loss to Agnes Irwin, the Churchwomen won their seventh consecutive Inter- Ac Title. EA currently holds a 17-1 overall record.
It was another great achievement for head coach Whit Powell, who has either won the conference title outright or shared the first-place crown 20 times in his last 25 years at the helm of the program.
Powell was quick to highlight his players achievements, specifically how competitive the team is.
“I think how hard they work in practice; how hard they compete in matches. They are a really tight-knit group, and it’s been that way for a long time, forget about the year,” said Powell.
Episcopal Academy senior captain Carter Yearly talks about being a part of this winning team.
EA head Coach Whitaker Powell talks about his teams character and their driving force.
Even after securing the title, the Churchwomen continued to display their skills sets this past Wednesday in their match against Penn Charter, winning 6-1. This win marked their 11-0 league record.
The strongest match came from EA’s captain Carter Yearley, who won both sets 6-0 over her opponent Zara Sinu. While Yearly did very well, at times her teammates had to fight into third set tiebreakers. The Quakers first double’s team of Bridgette Gold and Karya Karabuok were able to get Penn Charter’s lone victory of the day in two sets, 6-4 and 6-2 over Olivia Olson and Mel Kryukov.
It was moments like these where Yearly showed her senior leadership and why she chosen team captain.
“I really just focus, even during my match, on encouraging the girls. Playing singles, it is kind of hard because you’re separated from doubles and the other girls. So, I just try to cheer everyone on, lift everyone up, and then as soon as I’m done my match, I’m circling around just trying to motivate everyone and bring the energy up and positivity,” said Yearly.
Episcopal Academy vs. Penn Charter - Match highlights by Aidan Tyksinski
In the first singles match, EA junior Avery Morris won against, Mariah Mays, 6-2, 6-4. Freshman Gwen Morris capped off a clean sweep for the Churchwomen in singles play, but it wasn’t easy. After winning the first set, 6-2, opponent Olivia Vail evened the score for the Quakers by winning the second set, 2-6. In the tie-breaking set, Morris, showed the composure of an upperclassman and won easily, 10-3.
While two of the doubles matchups also went into an extra third set, both times the Churchwomen persevered and found ways to win. After losing the first set, 3-2 to Penn Charter's Layla Joshi and Jordan Simon the EA duo of Kayla Krasnik and Elsa Holleran roared back to take the second set, 6-3 and won the extra set,10-6. In third doubles, EA's Natalie Jiang and Sam Cellucci took the first set, 6-2. Penn Charter's Sarah Gross and Payton Small were able to win a close second set, 5-7. In the third set, EA was able to come away with a 10-7 victory. In fourth doubles, Julia Baggini and Nora Bailer commanded the first set 6-1, then fended off a Penn Charter comeback against Avery Goodheart and Noa Halpern to win the second set 7-5.
Episcopal Academy vs. Penn Charter - PSD Gallery by Bjorn Beck
The Churchwomen still have one conference game against Agnes Irwin before playoffs begin on November 8th. Yearly, who has been a part of a conference championship every year she has played, wants to use the next couple weeks to get prepared for a second consecutive state title run.
“In practice, this week and next, we are just going to focus on what we have all season, which is competing and doing really well. AIS is a good team, so it should be a good match,” she said.
Powell has very high expectations for his team as they get closer to playoffs. But rest assured, he doesn't take these past successes for granted.
“We have a saying within our team that the standard is the standard. And, you know, that means more to us than probably anybody else. But one of the things we always hold true is if you play the right way, you play hard, you compete, the results will take care of themselves,” said Powell.
“You never go into something with the result in your mind. You go into the process, and if the process is done correctly, the results take care of themselves."