Winning continued for Hopewell tennis team

Hopewell Valley girls tennis

By: John E. Powers
   It certainly was a transition year for the Hopewell Valley Central High School girls tennis team.
   Coming into the year, the Lady Bulldogs knew they’d have to replace graduated second singles player Danielle Morse, third singles player Mansi Shah and the doubles team of Danielle Keith and Steph Chapin. Then, the Lady Bulldogs learned that their expected top singles player, Hillary Drewry, was going to transfer to The Hun School, where she went 17-2 and won the Mercer County Tournament second singles title.
   Yes, it was definitely a transition season for the Lady Bulldogs, who went 14-4 last year. They didn’t make the state tournament and didn’t win the Colonial Valley Conference Patriot Division title, but the winning continued.
   "It was a blow to lose Hillary, but we did OK," HoVal coach Alma Quinlan said.
   The Lady Bulldogs finished 9-5 and were second in the division behind Princeton. Hopewell Valley was one of the schools state-wide to be affected by the rainy weather earlier in the fall. The Lady Bulldogs, who had a couple of meets moved because of poor weather, were just 2-3 at the time of the cutoff date for the state tournament.
   "The competition is so tough in Mercer County that it’s a major accomplishment to win," Quinlan said. "The girls were disappointed since they are used to going to the states and doing well."
   Freshman Kelsey Johnson, who won the team’s Bulldog MVP award, finished the season with a 5-9 record.
   "She had a huge hole to fill ," Quinlan said. "She has all the tools. Her mechanics are great. She will gain mental toughness."
   Freshman Kylie Smith was 5-8, and senior Fenna Leijten, who moved up from doubles last year, was 6-5. Quinlan was very impressed with Smith’s progress and is eager to see her top two returns as a tough pair. Both freshmen players are United States Tennis Association Middle States Tennis players and had an adjustment period to high school tennis.
   Leijten was the team’s captain and responded in some tough matches.
   "There were a lot of times when Fenna’s point was crucial," Quinlan said. "She really stepped it up as team captain."
   The first doubles team of senior Carly Levin and junior Caitlin Dalton was 8-4, and the second team of senior Skyler Veazey and sophomore Rebecca Wolf was 7-3. Senior Whitney Vitale also played some doubles.
   "Our doubles teams were very reliable," Quinlan said. "We really had some strong talent throughout the lineup."
   Sophomore Alexis Devaney was 4-0 and helped the Lady Bulldogs knock off Allentown 3-2 despite the fact Hopewell Valley was missing three starters. Allentown came into that match with an 8-2 record. Quinlan called it one of the season’s highlights.
   Devaney won the most improved player award, Veazey won the sportsmanship award, and senior Liz Holland won the "coach’s award."
   "She was a phenomenal supporter of the team," Quinilan said.