Titans finishing up D-I debut

Kevin Pomeroy
Posted 10/9/14

It’s been an up-and-down season for the Toll Gate girls’ tennis team, with the Titans taking their first lumps in a few years after moving up to Division I.

Lumps were expected. Winning a few …

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Titans finishing up D-I debut

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It’s been an up-and-down season for the Toll Gate girls’ tennis team, with the Titans taking their first lumps in a few years after moving up to Division I.

Lumps were expected. Winning a few matches, and competing with some of the best teams in the division, though, went beyond what Toll Gate thought it could achieve when it made the transition up a division.

“It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would have been,” said head coach Gary Gorman. “We held our own. It was respectable. We lost to the powerhouses.”

Toll Gate is 4-8, and it lost its third straight match on Tuesday 5-2 to playoff-bound Mount St. Charles. The Titans won’t be going to the playoffs, as they’re in fifth place in their sub division – D-I-Met A – and in eighth-place overall in D-I. The top six teams in D-I qualify for the postseason.

The match against Mount was indicative of the season. the Titans were very competitive, but ultimately came up just a little bit short.

They lost three matches this season by 4-3 margins. Had just two of those swung in their favor, they likely would have qualified for the postseason.

Two of those losses were to playoff-bound teams Barrington and North Kingstown, which have a combined record of 19-5. The other was to Portsmouth.

“It’s too bad,” Gorman said. “Those three matches. We could have won easily two out of three of those.”

Toll Gate’s two wins against the Mounties came at No. 3 and 4 singles. At No. 3, junior Caroline Waggoner defeated Julia Martin in straight sets 6-3, 6-2. At No. 4, senior Sky TenEyck beat Jen Lepine 6-4, 6-1.

In the other matches, senior Arianna Rizzo fell 6-2, 6-0 at No. 1 singles, while freshman Viansa Portesi dropped her match 6-3, 6-2 at No. 2.

At doubles, the team of sophomore Laurel TenEyck and senior Jen Schaad lost 6-4, 6-0 at No. 1, the team of freshmen Ava Sammartino and Maddy Capaldi lost 6-2, 6-3 at No. 2 and the team of freshman Elisabeth Brousseau and sophomore Kate Snyman lost 6-4, 5-3.

“We’ve held our own,” Gorman said.

While everyone has had their bright spots throughout the season, the No. 2 doubles team is one that caught Gorman’s eye as an improved duo, given that both players are inexperienced freshmen.

“The two freshmen at No. 2 doubles, you’ve got to hand it to them,” Gorman said. “They’ve won a few matches, they’re getting better. They’re learning the tactics of playing doubles.”

The No. 1 doubles team has also had its moments, including an upset win over perhaps the best doubles team in the state at East Greenwich.

“(TenEyck and Schaad) are probably one of the best teams in the state,” Gorman said. “They beat the No. 1 team from East Greenwich and they’re seeded first in the state tournament.”

There’s still more to look forward to for the rest of the season as well, as Toll Gate will finish its schedule up today at one-win Bay View at 3:30 p.m., and Gorman plans to empty his bench in the doubles matches.

The state tournament is also later this week, and Portesi has qualified in the 32-player singles bracket.

Overall, it’s been solid. The Titans celebrated Senior Night on Monday, and will say goodbye to three key components of their success the last few years in Rizzo, Schaad and TenEyck. Last season, in which Toll Gate went 12-0, was one of the best years in program history.

“Arianna Rizzo, Jen Schaad and Schuyler, they’re the backbone of the team,” Gorman said. “They’ve been here four years.”

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