“This was a really big moment and we’re really excited to get rings and trophies,” sophomore and varsity tennis player Ashley Fitz-Patrick said.
The girls varsity tennis team won the Team State Championship on June 5 after defeating Deep Run High School in a rematch of the 2016 State Semi-Finals.
The team has won individual States in past years, but this is the first year in Marshall’s history they’ve won Team States. Each team used their top six players in a series of singles matches, and if neither team has more than five wins, they move on to team matches that consist of two players from each team.
Many obstacles and tragedies fell upon the team during this season. Head coach Arlene Fitz-Patrick’s cancer diagnosis caused a momentary halt in the team’s progress.
“When I first heard that coach Fitz-Patrick was diagnosed, I remember me and the other girls being really upset, and for a little bit I could see it impacting my play,” junior and varsity tennis player Kate Taylor said. “But then after a while we all realized we should use this as motivation to go the farthest we can, and now being that we did that, it makes it that much more meaningful because we did it for her.”
Fitz-Patrick’s daughter, sophomore and varsity tennis player Ashley Fitz-Patrick, said that having her mom as a part of the team created a positive atmosphere that aided the team’s success.
“My mom was more of a mentor and a motherly figure to everyone,” Fitz-Patrick said. “She didn’t change up our strokes or techniques or anything because we each had individual coaches, but she gave us really good advice throughout the season.”
According to Taylor, the biggest challenge in the State Finals was beating the undefeated Nina Sorkin.
“[Sorkin] hadn’t lost a single match in all of her four years of high school, so I was really nervous for [Tran] when she was going up to start,” Taylor said. “But I had a strong feeling that something really special was about to happen.”
At the closing moments of the match between Sorkin and Tran, when the team realized what was about to happen, Taylor said the team was close to tears.
“As the last serve was going, and we realized that Reilly was going to win, I remember looking around at my teammates and seeing them with tears in their eyes,” Taylor said. “It was such a special moment to share, and one I will never forget.”
Freshman and varsity tennis player Reilly Tran is now the only athlete to have defeated Sorkin during her high school career.
“It was pretty amazing when [Tran] beat [Sorkin] in the Team Event,” Fitz-Patrick said. “[Sorkin] had gone undefeated and we finally beat her, and now her record is 89-1.”
Fitz-Patrick said Tran’s victory was the turning point in the game.
“That was a real game changer in the score because it allowed the seniors to win [the championship],” Fitz-Patrick said.
Seniors and team captains Priya Trehan-Sarna and Nattie Koludrovic won their doubles match, sending Marshall to victory. Losing in the semi-finals of their sophomore year, freshman and varsity tennis player Alyson Rees said it was nice of them to finally win together their senior year.
“It felt so good to have [the seniors] close it out,” Rees said. “It was nice that it was their last game as high school players and we all ran on the court bawling our eyes out.”
Rees said the team is excited to be presented with the state rings.
“I think that it’s cool that I can say I got a ring as a freshman,” Rees said. “I’m also excited for the seniors to get them and to see the trophy because they deserved it.”
Taylor said that claiming the title of Team State Champions meant more to the team than just winning their first rings and a trophy.
“Winning signified our unification and our care for coach Fitz-Patrick,” Taylor said. “It showed how strong we are as a program to come back and make a name for ourselves.”