BY AIDAN TYKSINSKI

(PHOTOS BY JAMES QUINN & ZAMANI FEELINGS)

NEWTON SQUARE, PA -  The Episcopal Academy’s (EA) women's tennis team has dominated the Inter-AC for over two decades, making it harder each season to top the previous campaign. This year, however, the Churchwomen might have accomplished that feat, defeating Agnes Irwin School 7-0 as part of the traditional EA-AIS day to win their second consecutive PAISSA title.

The win capped off a truly great season for EA. The team finished the year 22-1 and undefeated in conference play. Once playoffs hit, the team really found its stride, winning all three matches by a score of 7-0.

For EA head coach Whitaker Powell, the championship was a nice addition to his long resume, spanning 25 years and 20 conference championships.

“"The success of our girls' tennis team this season has been incredible, capturing the Inter-AC title and continuing an undefeated streak in the league for the past seven years, along with repeating as PAISAA champions,” said Powell.

“This level of accomplishment is the result of relentless hard work day in and day out, and I couldn’t be prouder.”

To start the day, junior Avery Morris, freshman Gwen Morris, and senior captain Carter Yearly all swept their singles matches over AIS's Emma Harmelin, Gigi Seibert and Sophie Alyasenko.

In the doubles sets, EA Olivia Olson and senior Mel Kryukov defeated BB Bullitt and Bridget Bowers in two sets, EA's Kayla Krasnik and Elsa Holleran beat AIS's Dwyer Corrigan and Sus Doherty in two sets, and EA's Natalie Jiang with teammate Sam Cellucci defeated Ava Langston and Sophie Walkenhorst in two sets.

The only match that went three sets was the last doubles set, where EA senior Julia Baggini and junior Nora Bailer were able to pull out the win against senior Naomi Kimm and junior Liz Storrer to cap off EA’s perfect day.

Baggini and Bailer started the first set by winning 6-4, but Kimm and Storrer came back strong to win the second set 6-3. The third set was competitive the whole time, but the Churchwomen came away with a close 11-9 victory.

To an outsider, it might seem that Powell has a secret formula to keep his teams competitive year in and year out. But according to Powell, it's much simpler than that. “The team’s spirit, commitment to improvement, and eagerness to compete with one another has created a unique culture of winning. While talent plays a major role, it’s truly their dedication to our team values, their selflessness, and their joy for the game that drives this continued success.,” he said.

 This is now the 7th consecutive year that EA has won the Inter-AC conference, which broke the old league record of 5, set by EA from 2001-2005. Yearly was around for four of those seven years, although this year was a little more special.

 “We worked hard all season as a team, pushing each other and improving each day to accomplish our goal which was to win a PAISSA championship,” she said. “As a senior and it being my final year on the team, it was so special to see all of our dedication and hard work pay off. Our team created an incredible bond this season which made us very tough competitors. None of this would have been possible if it wasn’t for Coach Powell, who motivated us to be better each day.”

Not only did EA get the state Championship, but they also got the overall win on EA-AIS day thanks to a 2-0 victory in soccer and a tie in field hockey. It’s the 8th season in a row that EA has retained the coveted the banner, and 17th time overall since EA-AIS day started in 2005.