The Barrington High School girls tennis team put up a valiant effort in the state semifinals, on Wednesday, Nov. 2, before losing to East Greenwich.

The Eagles pushed the Avengers to the limit before losing 4-2. Barrington singles players Ava Koczera-Kasem and Katie Byon won their matches in straight sets, and two BHS doubles teams pushed their matches into three sets before coming up just short.

But it might have been the match at number four singles that offered the most excitement of the playoff competition. The Eagles’ Charlotte Danyla lost her first set against East Greenwich’s Ariana Davoudi, but battled back to win the second set 7-5. 

The two players battled to a 6-6 tie in the third set. Danyla took an early lead in the tiebreaker, but Davoudi kept it close. After three and a half hours on the court, and with the tiebreaker locked at 12-12, Davoudi experienced some type of a physical breakdown and the match was paused.

But while fans waited for play to resume, the third doubles match — a three-set thriller — concluded: East Greenwich won and captured its fourth team point. That victory pushed the Avengers into the state finals. 

“I am so amazed at these girls,” Barrington Coach Polly Danyla said of her team. “They work so hard for me. They want me to be happy. They blew me away. 

“I told them to be proud of what they accomplished, and be proud of what we are as a group.”

Barrington finished the regular season with an impressive 11-1 record, and earned the second seed in the Division I playoffs. The Eagles defeated Mount St. Charles in the quarterfinals and put forth a determined effort in the semis.

BHS senior Sonya Pareek lost a heart-breaker to East Greenwich’s Annalee Ambler, 6-6 (tiebreaker 2-7), 4-6.

“Sonya played her heart out and really made her opponent work for every point,” Coach Danyla said. “Sonya had some amazing shots and served many aces.”

Koczera-Kasem shined in her match at number two singles. She defeated EG’s Lily Shaughnessy 6-4, 7-5.

“Ava is my steady, even keel player,” Coach Danyla said. “She is consistent and her matches tend to run for an hour and a half to 2 hours. Ava has had a wonderful season with 10 wins and 2 losses.”

At third singles, Barrington’s Katie Byon rolled to a 6-1, 6-4 victory over the Avengers’ Kyanna Lin.

“All season Katie has taken care of business and is always my first player to finish. She has had a wonderful season with 10 wins and only 2 losses,” Coach Danyla said. 

Charlotte Dayla’s match at fourth singles was suspended, but her mom/coach was still very proud of her effort. 

“Charlotte is my player who can get every drop shot, slice, overhead and a shot that is fired right at her. She never wears out!” Coach Danyla said. 

At number one doubles, Barrington’s Sadie Spector and Ava Grant fell to East Greenwich’s Alexis Besio and Anna Deng, 4-6, 2-6. 

Charlotte Byon and Zeynep Abul, playing at number two doubles, won their first set against EG’s Katerina Beaulieu and Julia Erickson, 6-3. But the second set went to the Avengers, 4-6. The third and deciding set went to EG, 2-6. 

At third doubles, Barrington’s Jillian Frechette and Addison Friedman lost in a three-set match to East Greenwich’s Ellie Coker-Redman and Emily Kendall, 5-7, 6-4, 3-6. 

Coach Danyla said she was very proud of everyone on her team, which made the loss and end of the season particularly difficult. 

“We are literally like a family,” she said. “You don’t find that a lot.”

Coach Danyla wanted to thank her team captains, Pareek and Katie Byon, for their work all season long. They are two of the six girls who will graduate from this year’s team. 

Coach Danyla said she truly enjoyed her first season coaching the Eagles. 

“I loved it. It was awesome. It was so… because I coached before at Moses Brown, it was so different,” Coach Danyla said. “These girls just all really looked out for each other. I didn’t have that before. These girls … win or lose, they always high-fived each other coming off the court.

“I’m going to miss them.”

In the finals, LaSalle defeated East Greenwich 4-0 and captured its ninth straight title.