The Tiverton girls’ tennis team won the Division 3 state championship edging Exeter-West Greenwich 4-3 at Slater Park on Saturday afternoon. With the match knotted at 3-3, The Tigers’ third doubles team of senior Sophia Han and sophomore Hailey Archambault, came back from a 2-5 second-set deficit and won their match 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, and the championship for the Tigers.

“Sophia and Hailey turned up the heat and played the set of their lives,” said head coach Jessica Cullinan. “These two handled the pressure beautifully, with a hyped crowd, photographers, officials, and coaches watching the match. It was a comeback of a lifetime.”

The match was the duo’s first ever, together as Coach Cullinan had to pluck Archambault off the JV roster to play in her first varsity match after needing to replace Juniper Merkle, who couldn’t play due to a family commitment.

With a week’s notice and one practice under their belts, the duo gelled into teammates, stepped up and persevered.

“I was really nervous,” said Archambault. “When I realized that we were playing in the winning match, I was so scared. But we won.”

Third singles player Courtnie Smith, fourth singles player Brooke Sowa and the second doubles team of Angelleena Cordeiro and Carly Sanna won their matches for Tiverton.

Smith beat Danae Mayan-Audette in a tense, tight match, 6-3, 6-4.

“When Courtnie is on, no one’s beating her,” Coach Cullinan said. “She stayed consistent and relaxed, smiling and laughing throughout the match.”

Sowa, meanwhile, crushed her opponent, Ellise Fuller, in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0.

Brooke outmatched her,” she said. “She didn’t let up and finished the match.”

Cordeiro and Sanna won a tough 6-3, 6-4 battle against Hailey Mccoombs and Alexa Barrett.

“They are always reliable, Coach Cullinan said. “Angelleena and Carly need minimal coaching. They play doubles as one, which is the dream for a doubles team. There were some frustrations to work through during this match, but they stayed focused and finished strong.”

First and second singles and first doubles play tough in losses

First singles player, Lexi Boissonneau, second singles player, Julia Keating and first doubles team, Caroline Durost and Lia Doster, all played tough, but lost their matches to their Avenger opponents.

Boissonneau lost to Sadie Ray, 4-6, 2-6. Keating fell to Clare Titus, 0-6, 3-6. Durost and Doster lost to Avantika Kumaraguru and her sister, Shreya, 2-6, 3-6.

“Both Lexi and Julia played very smart, moved the ball around, and never gave up,” said assistant coach Sam Rollings of the senior singles players.

First championship since 2004

The championship appearance was Tiverton’s first since 2018, according to Coach Cullinan. The championship win was the Tigers’ first since 2004.

“They won a small D-4 pool,” she said.

The third seeded Tiverton had beat the fourth seeded Avengers during the regular season and finished their season with a record of 15-4. They won five-straight matches since losing to D-2 East Providence on October 16.

The girls also win in the classroom

The Tigers have a 92% grade-average across the team, according to Coach Cullinan. Both juniors and seniors were recognized with the new All Scholars Award, where a 3.8 weighted GPA is the main requirement, she said.

“We are so proud of the whole team for their huge improvement over the past year,” she said. “We had a 2-12 record last season, this is more of a breakthrough than we could have ever hoped for.” “We focused on match strategy and mental strategy throughout the season and that has certainly been a key to handling pressure throughout playoffs.”