Tennis Team Reaches County Seminifinals

The Verona girls’ tennis team’s season highlight was advancing to the semifinals of the Essex County Tournament for the first time in over 10 years, which was huge for the program.

Verona’s final overall record for the season was 12-7. Starters this year were Dasha Yakhnis at first singles, Alexis Duhaney at second singles, and Michelle Lima at third singles.  Doubles pairing were Julia Cambreleng with Julianna Tuorto and Veronica Wertz with Maggie Kousoulou.

After beating Columbia 3-2, the girls clinched the Liberty Division championship of the Super Essex Conference going undefeated 5-0. They then went on to reach the Sectional Final for the fifth consecutive year, but lost to New Providence 2-3.  This was the first year that the team had two singles players qualify for the individual singles state tournament, another big step for the program. It was also the first year that the team had two seeded singles players with Dasha Yakhnis ranked #13 and Alexis Duhaney ranked #31 in the state. Postseason honors for all-conference and all-group teams are still pending.

“Heading into this year, I knew that we were going to be a very strong team,” Coach Thai commented when asked to share his thoughts on the season. “Every practice and every match, I would tell our team that this team was going to be very special. We made history by reaching the semifinals of the county tournament and reaching the sectional final for a fifth straight year. I think the best part about this season was seeing all of the close relationships the girls developed with each other. It was an honor to see how they matured on and off the court.”

“Next year is going to be tough replacing Michelle, Lexi and Veronica in our starting lineup,” he noted when asked to express his thoughts on next season. “All of the girls were so mentally tough for our team this year, but it gives the new crop of students a chance to get playing experience. We will have a strong returning core of players with Dasha Yakhnis, Julia Cambreleng, Julianna Tuorto, Maggie Kousoulou, Megan Forrest, Alyssa Deo and Dezy Meyer.”

Captainship has been passed to Dasha Yakhnis and Maggie Kousoulou for next season, and as Coach Thai comments, “we will keep our expectations high for next year.”