BY KIKI TROILO FRIENDS’ CENTRAL SCHOOL

(Photos & Video by Allie Riches for PSD)

PHILA.-- What an incredible season for girls tennis in the Friends School League (FCS). After two months of extensive league play the long-awaited final took place at the home of the number one seed, Germantown Friends School (GFS). In very similar fashion to the 2024 season, it was GFS that took on Friends’ Central (FCS). Last year, FCS had the advantage as they were undefeated in the league, but GFS took the victory in a major upset to earn the 2024 title. This year, the two roles were reversed as FCS took the title after losing 5-0 and 4-1 during regular season play. Both of these amazing teams fought hard all season during in league and out of league matches but, in the end, it was Friends’ Central that took the title with an impressive win on Tuesday, Oct. 28th.

2nd Doubles

On the 2nd doubles court, it was GFS that was dominating from the start. GFS’s Sofia Xu and Estella Chen competed against Eva Dombar and Leila El-Jack of FCS. Chen and Xu competed strongly at both the net and the baseline with their efforts giving them a fast 3-0 lead in the first set. They continued to stay on the offense throughout the first set, winning at a very strong score of 6-0.

In the second set, Dombar and El-Jack attempted to make the match closer by staying on serve for multiple games. The freshman and sophomore FCS duo were proving to be some trouble for GFS’s 2nd doubles pair. But it was not enough as Chen and Xu finished strong and took the win with a final score of 6-0, 6-3.

3rd Singles

It was once again a GFS player with the upper hand in this match as junior Elie Bekelmen walked onto the court with a 2-0 in season match lead against FCS sophomore Kiki Troilo. Both matches were complete battles going to 3 sets each time but it was still Bekelmen going into the match with all of the momentum. From the very second these two players walked onto the court, it was clear that the result would be pivotal to the title. The match began with Bekelmen serving and when Troilo got the initial break, she ran with it, taking the set to a stunning score of 6-0.

Not much changed as the match moved into the second set. Once again, the set was in Troilo’s control from the start. Bekelmen fought for a couple games to try and gain back some momentum, but in the end, it was FCS’s 3 that took the match 6-0 6-2.

After the match Troilo said, “I think what got me through the match in such a dominant fashion was my resilience and energy. I want to bring a college tennis atmosphere to high school tennis, that is why I yell ‘Let’s go!’ to hype myself up. That is something I pride myself on every single match, especially in this one”.

After the score of the first set, it seemed very difficult to imagine FCS coming back into this match and Gupta and O’Sullivan were in full control. But the tides turned in FCS’s favor on Tuesday afternoon with Jih-Cook and Freedman starting off very strong. Freedman poached at the net with aggressive volleys while Jih-Cook used her strong out wide serve to finish points before they even started. After a very close second set going back and forth between the two teams on serve, FCS took the set 6-4 to tie up the match and bring it to a deciding 3rd set.

FCS started off the set by getting an early break while the two teams continued to hold serve. All four of the girls gave it their all on the court but ultimately, it led to FCS’s Freedman to serve out the match at 5-4. As just an 8th grader, Freedman had never been in a moment this big on the court but with her senior partner, the two got through it together and won the match 1-6, 6-4, 6-4.

After the match, Jih-Cook said, “After losing the first set 1-6, the final point of which was lost by getting an overhead to the face-it was hard to see us leaving with a win. Nonetheless, Annabel and I just clicked, and we immediately started to make a comeback, ultimately winning the match. It’s definitely a match I’ll remember for a very long time”.

As soon as the first set ended, there was a momentum shift in the other direction to Ruger. From the first point, Ruger gave every ball all of her effort and didn’t give up. The second set was once again within one break of serve but this time, Ruger took the set 6-4 to tie up the match. At this point, the entire championship score was tied up 1-1. All pressure was on this third set decider for the win on court one.

When it seemed that it would be difficult to shift the momentum again, Groundwater took the upper hand, coming out of the gate firing winners past Ruger. Throughout the match, Ruger prided herself on her high ball tolerance and agility, running down every single ball until she physically could not anymore. Yet Groundwater still managed to outlast GFS 1’s impressive returns. 

2nd Singles

This long-anticipated match came around the corner once again with the rematch of last year's deciding battle in the final. It was a fight between GFS’s Anisa Kim and senior Maddy Jackson of FCS, facing off for the third time this season. It was sophomore player Kim who had the upper hand going into the match, having won the two prior in-season matches against Jackson. Jackson and Kim played a match very similar to the rest with the goal of outlasting each other in 30 ball rallies. Kim took the early lead by winning the first set 6-4.

It was really anyone’s win in this match as both players were equally skilled. Jackson used the noise from the FCS fanbase in the audience to shift the momentum in the second set although Kim still continued to hold strong and fight back. This time it was Jackson that took the set 6-4 after a long fight.

At this point of the match, the overall score was already decided so instead of playing out a full third set, the 2nd singles players faced off in a 10-point tiebreak to determine a winner. In a surprising turn of events, a majority of the points in this tiebreak were not the typical 30 ball rallies that these two players were used to exchanging with one another. Instead, both players were going for bigger shots sooner in the rallies. Just like the rest of the match, the tiebreak was a battle too and a very fitting ending. Kim won by just 2 points finishing the tiebreak with a score of 10-8 in favor of GFS but an outstanding final performance for FCS senior Jackson. Kim took the match with a final score of 6-4, 4-6, 10-8, but it was Jackson that took home the 2025 Championship Title.

What an incredible season for Friends’ Central culminating with the title win in the Friends School League. They trained hard every day on and off the court to get to the final match and do what seemed nearly impossible. And to an equally amazing season for Germantown Friends, where every player on the GFS team gave every match their all.