Coming off a spectacular season in which it earned a record of 20-2, while advancing to the CIAC Class LL Tournament final and FCIAC Tournament semifinals, the members of the Greenwich High School girls tennis team have high expectations for themselves this spring.

“I think we’re going to go far,” Greenwich senior Emily Weinstein said. “We have a lot of new players and it’s looking really positive for us. We have great girls on this team and so far we’re doing really well.”

Captaining the Cardinals are seniors Kyra Dybas and Malena Schraa, both of whom have flourished on the varsity team the past several seasons. The Cardinals have several first-year varsity players on their roster and they are adjusting well to playing on the varsity level.

“It’s really exciting to see the new freshmen and see how everyone grows,” Schraa said. “We’ve also seen the new people come in and become so different too.”

The 2023 season saw Greenwich finish a perfect 16-0 on their way to winning the FCIAC regular season title. In the FCIAC Tournament the Cardinals were defeated by rival Darien in the semifinal-round. Greenwich also excelled at the CIAC Class LL Tournament, winning their first three matches to make it to the championship round against New Canaan, another rival.

The Rams captured the Class LL title by edging the Cardinals in the finals, 4-2, at Wesleyan University. As the first five matches of its 2024 season has shown, Greenwich has picked up where it left off from last year’s excellent season.

Posting convincing victories against FCIAC opponents Brien McMahon, Fairfield Ludlowe, Wilton, Bridgeport Central and St. Joseph, Greenwich sports a record of 5-0 thus far.

“It’s been good so far, we have a really strong team, so it’s nice to play alongside these girls,” said Dybas, who once again plays at No. 1 singles for the Cardinals, a position she thrived at a season ago.

Greenwich registered a 7-0 victory against Brien McMahon in its season-opener, then topped Ludlowe and Wilton, 6-1. On Tuesday, the Cards swept Bridgeport Central, 7-0 and they were victorious against visiting St. Joseph, 7-0, on Friday.

Jerry Sulli is in his first season as coach of the Cardinals. Sulli takes over the coaching reigns from Julie Shropshire, who coached the varsity tennis squad the previous four seasons.

“We have a fantastic group of girls,” Sulli said. “I coached JV for 10 years. It’s fun doing varsity, plus the level of play is so much better. We have depth, all of our singles players are very talented. I think we’ll go far this year.”

At No. 1 singles in Friday’s match against St. Joseph, Greenwich received a 7-6, 6-0 victory from Dybas. Strong serving was key for Dybas in edging her Cadets foe in the tiebreaker.

“I was just trying to play my best tennis, focusing on my serve, getting a good kick serve,” Dybas said of the tiebreak. “I think that was a key for the tiebreak. It was pretty close and it felt good to come back. I just focused on moving my feet was really focused on the serve.”

Sulli has been impressed with Dybas’ performance in each of her matches at the No. 1 singles spot.

“Each game she gets better and better,” Sulli said of Dybas. “Her fighting spirit is great – when she gets behind, she doesn’t give up. With that tremendous forehand she has, what a weapon. Her serve is excellent, so she has all the tools.”

In the No. 2 singles match, Cardinals sophomore Shining Sun swept to a 6-0, 6-0 victory against her St. Joseph foe.

“I’ve been working on my attacking shots, so I was accelerating more than I usually do and it was working more than I expected,” said Sun, who played both singles and doubles for GHS last spring. “I like playing singles.”

Sun’s serve is an asset that gives her an advantage in her matches.

“I’m practicing my slice that would be really useful and I’m trying to attack better, which is what I was working on today,” she noted.

The No. 3 singles match saw Greenwich sophomore Caitlin Mahoney also earn a 6-0, 6-0 triumph.

“Going into it I was really excited, I definitely had to move my opponent side to side, but it was a good match,” Mahoney said. “So far this season has been great. I’ve really been looking forward to getting out there and playing with the team.”

Izzy Everett, a junior, had the same success at fourth singles vs. St. Joe, winning her match in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0.

“All of our singles players can not only hit the ball well, they’re consistent,” Sulli noted. “They are smart out there. We have depth, all of our singles players are very talented.”

Greenwich has also flourished in doubles action as well, starting with Schraa and Weinstein, a first-season duo, at No. 1. They won their match against St. Joseph, 6-0, 6-1 and have consistently given the squad a lift at the top doubles spot.

“We never thought that we would play together, but here we are and we’re playing great so far,” said Weinstein, also a doubles player in previous seasons. “We work really well on the court and off the court as well, so it makes it a little easier to motivate each other.”

Schraa was highly successful in the Cards’ singles lineup in 2023 and has impressively made the switch to doubles play this spring.

“We’re a very small team, but mighty,” Schraa said. “I think we can win it (state title) this year. We have the mindset.”

At second doubles, junior Yume Inagawa and Maddy Wilber were 6-0, 6-1 winners for Greenwich over St. Joseph, while sophomore Bella Barban and sophomore Olivia Popp swept their match at third doubles, 6-0, 6-0.

“We have a lot of younger players and they are all really dedicated,” Dybas said. “They all work really hard.”

Greenwich hosts conference opponent Staples tomorrow at 3:30 p.m., travels to Trumbull on Tuesday for a 4 p.m. matchup, then hosts New Canaan Wednesday at 4 p.m. in a rematch of last season’s Class LL Tournament final.

“This season we are looking for the state championship, so it should be great,” Mahoney said. “One of our biggest challenges will be New Canaan. We are looking forward to playing them again and having another good match.”