Amazing 2011 Season!

This year, the Warwick Girls Varsity Tennis Team was part of Division 1. The girls had to compete against Newburgh, Monroe-Woodbury, Kingston, Middletown, Pine Bush, Valley Central, and Washingtonville, playing each team twice.

Even though the Lady Cats began the season with 2 losses; one to Valley Central, and the second to Monroe-Woodbury, they fought hard, rebounded, and had their first win against Kinston, 5-2. The next match was against Newburgh, where they won again with a 5-2 win. They sustained their 3rd loss to Washingtonville on the 19th of September, losing 3-4 in a very close match. Washingtonville had the home court advantage, and the Warwick girls were determined to beat them in our next encounter at home!

The athletes then had to face Middletown at home, and established themselves in the conference with a force to be reckoned with. They beat the Middies 5-2, with outstanding wins at first and fourth Singles, as well as winning all of the Doubles matches. The team’s next match, away against Valley Central, proved to be a difficult one. The Wildcats lost 1-6. The only Team to win was the 3rd Doubles team, who won in two sets with a close tiebreaker in the 2nd set, bringing their record to 6-0! The date of that match was September 26th, and Warwick’s record was 3-4.

On September 27th, the athletes traveled to Pine Bush. Four of the seven matches went to 3 sets! Warwick held fast and was able to pull out the overall match score of 6-1! From then on in, the Warwick Wildcats were on a roll! They continued winning their next six matches. This brought their record to 10 – 4 for the season! Many of the matches went late into the night, where some of the spectators had to put on their car headlights to give more lights to the girls' courts.

The final match of the season was at home vs. Pine Bush. For the five seniors, Jenn La Verdi, Kimberly Scoppetta, Sara Beck, Julie Nouet, and Jessie Zakzewski, it was their last High School match. Fun was had by all, with a delicious “tennis court"cake, with amazing figurines of the five athletes and their coach, Mrs. Filingeri. These were all strategically placed on the over-sized cake. Making the day even more enjoyable was the final outcome of the match: a 6-1 victory over Pine Bush.

The Lady Cats had two teams qualify for the County Tournament, which this year was played at Match Point Tennis in Chester. Jenn LaVerdi, the number one singles player for the team, as well as Team Captain, and Julianna Marcolini, a 9th grader and the team’s second singles player, represented Warwick as their Wild Card. The true number one Doubles Team of Krista Sonsalla and Nikki Knapp qualified with a record of 11- 3! They were placed as the fifth seed for the tournament. Both teams qualified for the Section IX Tournament, making it into the round of 8. The team of Sonsalla and Knapp came in fourth for the Tournament, each receiving a medal.

The following week was the Section IX Tournament at Match Point. Both teams made it to the Quarter Finals Round, but were defeated by their opponents. All four of the athletes showed exemplary sportsmanship, on and off of the courts.

The Warwick Valley Varsity Girls Tennis Team had an amazing season this fall! The third Doubles Team of Sara Beck and Jasmine Noteboom were undefeated all season, with a record of 13 -0! Jeanie McCarthy, who played Third Singles for the Lady Cats, and Janette Kasal, who played Fourth Singles, both had outstanding seasons in their positions. The second doubles team of juniors Charlotte Caskey and Samantha Easton played hard throughout the season, going the distance many a time with three-set matches. The team was completed by the exhibition members: Kimberly Scoppetta, Julie Nouet, Christina Carmody, Teah Sisti, and Jessie Zakzewski.

The seniors will be greatly missed. We wish them all much success with the rest of the school year, as well as their future endeavors with college.

GO WILDCATS!!!!!!!!!!