SOUTH HADLEY — The fate of the South Hadley girls tennis team rested with three players against Lee in its Western Massachusetts Division 3 Tournament semifinal Tuesday afternoon.
Down 2-1, the Tigers needed wins from No. 2 singles player Caroline Robitaille and the No. 1 doubles duo of Aislinn Ford and Hannah Dahrouque.
With teammates, family and friends watching from the hill above the Mount Holyoke tennis courts, the players came through with victories. After the 3-2 win over Lee, third-seeded South Hadley (14-7) will play for a sectional title against No. 1 Belchertown (21-1), Friday at Western New England University.
It’s South Hadley’s first shot at a championship since winning in 2009.
“I have 21 players and only six are comeback players,” South Hadley coach Eric Cestero said. “The other 15 players are new. There was nothing else I could teach them today that I didn’t teach them already. We won today with heart. If you have the heart you are going to win.”
Robitaille won the first set against Lee’s Ava Martin, 6-2. Robitaille said she suffered a “mental breakdown” in the second set that saw Martin tie the match.
“The pressure got to me,” Robitaille said. “I was over-thinking it. I wasn’t in it. I kept having to tell myself that I can do this.”
Robitaille did do it, and bested Martin in the third set, 7-5, to tie the match at 2-2. She also received encouraging words from teammate and fellow captain Katie Meon.
With that match over, all eyes went to the No. 1 doubles match. The freshman duo of Ford and Dahrouque beat Angelique Nejaime and Maddie DeSantis 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.
Both South Hadley players had no competitive experience coming into the season. The freshmen stared pressure right in the eye and came through for the Tigers in the semifinal.
“They learned how to play tennis with me this year,” Cestero said. “They never picked up a racquet in their lives. After you learn how to play it’s all mental.”
Meon dispatched Suriana Lee 6-4, 6-2 in the No. 1 singles match with steady play. Meon has the monumental task of facing Meghan Bernard, Belchertown’s top singles player, in the finals. Meon lost to Bernard 6-1, 6-1 during the regular season, a 5-0 win for the Orioles.
“I just need to go into the match and play one point at a time,” Meon said. “I wasn’t in the best mental state last time and played my worst match of the year. I just need to get the ball back and keep my mindset right if I get down.”
No. 3 singles went to No. 7-seed Lee with Sarah Winston beating Tosin Omojola 6-1, 6-0.
No. 2 doubles had Kate DelSignor and Ana Wang beating South Hadley’s Olivia and Alexa Blaney, 6-3, 6-2.
