Champions!

Thacher Tennis takes CIF Division 5 title.
On Friday, Thacher’s Girls’ Varsity Tennis Team traveled down to the Claremont Club to face Magnolia High School of Anaheim in the CIF Southern Section Division 5 finals. They returned to campus with the championship, capping a season in which they went undefeated in Frontier League play for the second year in a row, earning an overall season record of 21 wins and 1 loss.

“What a storybook ending to an amazing season,” reported coach Pete Fagan. “All of our seniors; Grace, Tyler, Katie, Charlotte, Margaret, and Jean….what an incredible bunch of competitors, teammates, and fighters. Last year in the finals, we were intimidated by the fans of the other team, but this year, our girls were not going to let that happen, as they shouted support after every point....It was awesome!”

In the first round of play, Magnolia had stacked their lineup, putting their top player on court three, which cost Thacher points on the singles side. But the doubles teams held, putting Thacher ahead. After the second round of matches Thacher was up 8-4 and gaining momentum on their way to the decisive final tally of 13-5.

The victory was a fitting end to a season of many highlights, including a playoff run in which the Toads outscored their opponents 70 sets to 20 sets. Earlier in the season, Libby Kern ’17, who went undefeated in singles, had been named Frontier League singles MVP for the second year in a row. Sydney de Polo ’17 and Tyler James ’16 were named Frontier League doubles MVPs. Grace Callander ’16 and Jasmin Arculli ’17 were first team all league; Cara Deinst was second team all league; and Katie Rauner ’16, Bea Pierrepont ’18, and Olivia De Polo ’18 were honorable mentions for the Frontier League.

“The success of this program,” notes coach Pete Fagan, “is due to one thing: the commitment of the girls to show up in late summer, sweat through a month of heat, endure my yelling, and arrive at practice each day willing to get better.”

Coach Fagan is rightfully proud: “They worked hard, always looked to improve, but most of all, loved and cared for each other. They never had any down moments and never lost confidence in themselves or each other. The depth of our team went way beyond the courts. I couldn't be more proud of this team and will miss them dearly.”
 
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