Lizzie Baker helps National Cathedral edge Holton-Arms for ISL AA tennis tournament title
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Version 0 of 1. National Cathedral junior Lizzie Baker watched with anticipation as her opponent’s slice backhand landed short on her side of the court, putting Baker in prime position to hit her favorite shot. Holton-Arms junior Maya Das had fought back and saved two match points but could only watch as Baker unleashed a forehand winner down the line to win the match. With the 10-8 victory at No. 1 singles, Baker clinched the Independent School League AA division girls’ tennis tournament championship for the Eagles, the team’s first title since 2008. National Cathedral entered Friday afternoon’s tournament at Flint Hill in Oakton as a co-champion with Holton-Arms and Bullis after the three schools each lost only once in the regular season. “I saw her hit that slice short ball, and she was hitting that a lot during the match,” Baker said of the last point. “And I was like, ‘Oh, I got it.’ ” Baker, who let a comfortable lead slip away late in the match, did not realize her team had won the tournament until she saw her teammates rushing toward her. It was a feeling Baker does not get to experience often. “Usually tennis is a one-on-one kind of thing, so I don’t have a lot of experience with having a team behind me,” said Baker, who plays U.S. Tennis Association tournaments regularly. National Cathedral edged Holton-Arms, 4-3, in the regular season, and the players knew it would be another tough battle against the perennial powerhouse Panthers. Holton-Arms has now lost in the tournament final in two straight years. The team has shared or won the ISL AA league title outright six of the past seven seasons. The Panthers started the afternoon with victories at No. 3 singles (Anjali Berdia) and No. 2 doubles (Katherine Liu and Katerina Soltany), before the Eagles’ Chidimma Okpara won at No. 2 singles to put National Cathedral on the board. Okpara’s victory was quickly followed by wins at No. 4 singles (Ly-Lan Schaszberger) and No. 3 doubles (Morgan Chung and Ally Lorico) for the Eagles. And by the time Holton-Arms’s No. 1 doubles team of Sophie Gary and Mary Claire Medeiros had won to tie the team score at three, Baker had earned three match points against Das. “Holton is definitely an emotional game for us because they’re really tough competitors and we have a really long history with them, because they almost always beat us,” Eagles senior Schaszberger said, before pausing. “Except this year.” Notes: Flint Hill defeated Stone Ridge, 4-3, to win the ISL A division girls’ tournament at Bullis in Potomac. The Huskies, who had the best record in their division, will move up to the ISL AA division next year. |