Greenwich Academy’s tennis team has certainly continued its long tradition of excellence this spring, flourishing against its foe it has faced.

Wednesday marked Greenwich Academy’s final match of the regular season and its 2023 campaign saw it earn an outstanding record of 11-2, good for second place in the FAA.

GA’s only two losses were close defeats, coming against Hotchkiss School and most recently, Hopkins School. The Gators were edged, 4-3, by visiting Hopkins on Wednesday in a match with the FAA regular season title at stake.

“Hopkins has a fantastic team,” Greenwich Academy coach Elizabeth Schrohe said. “It came down to a few points, and we are very proud of how our team played today and throughout the season. An 11-2 record is hard to beat.”

GA, which has posted convincing victories against Rye Country Day School, Westminster School, School of the Holy Child, Greenwich Country Day School, Kent School, Loomis Chaffee, St. Luke’s, Sacred Heart Greenwich and Taft, to name just some of their wins, won two of the four singles matches and one of the three doubles matchups against Hopkins – which is undefeated in the FAA.

“This has been one of the strongest and positive teams I have ever coached,” Schrohe said.

In doubles action, Elsa Burgess and Ella Loehnis posted another victory at the No. 1 spot for the Gators. Burgess/Loehnis registered a 5-7, 6-3, 10-6 win over Hopkins’ Margot Sack/Emily Driscoll.

GA’s top doubles team has a perfect 12-0 record this season.

“They were definitely the best opponents we played,” said Loehnis, a freshman. “Keeping our energy up helped us a lot.”

GA’s No. 1 doubles team took the court with a lot of confidence and a positive mindset.

“We have this quote that we use about not winning or losing before you step on the court and just going in and have a blank mindset,” Loehnis noted. “It’s not the stronger, faster man, it’s the one who thinks he can.”

Said Burgess: “Ella and I have had a super strong season together, and we know each other’s playing styles really well which is crucial. Today especially the key was keeping the energy up and the momentum going.”

At third singles, sophomore Emily Sherman is also unbeaten for Greenwich Academy. Sherman sports a 13-0 record after defeating Hopkins’ Leva Strickland, 6-1, 6-3.

“Every match I have assessed by opponent and played the match point-by-point,” Sherman said. “If I lost a game, I didn’t focus on that.”

Shields McClure continued her season of perfection in singles competition for GA. McClure improved to 12-0 with a hard-fought 6-3, 1-6, 14-12 triumph against Claire Russell of Hopkins at No. 4 singles.

The No. 1 singles match saw Kate Driscoll of Hopkins record a 6-0, 6-01 win over GA sophomore Charlotte Pastel, who has sparked the squad at the top of the singles lineup.

“It’s been a really fun season,” Pastel noted. “We were undefeated up until Saturday when we played Hotchkiss and we lost 5-4. It was a really close match. The team is really close, we’re all best friends and it’s been really great.”

“I’ve had some really close matches, some good tiebreaks,” Pastel continued. “All my teammates have pushed me a lot and they are super great to train with.”

Sebaga Kambo was victorious against Greenwich Academy junior Grace Genereux at second singles, 6-0, 6-0. Genereux has also given the Gators a significant boost in singles action this spring.

At second doubles, GA’s Val Cuccolo and Mia Jones played a very tight, competitive match against Hopkins’ Kiersten Brennan/Rosie Shen. The Hopkins duo edged Cuccolo/Jones, 5-7, 6-4, 10-6.

No. 3 doubles saw GA’s Isa Packard and Juliet Winegardner play well in losing a tough 7-5, 6-4 match against Hopkins.

Today, Greenwich Academy is competing in the FAA Championships up at Hopkins School in New Haven. The second day of the tournament takes place at Greens Farms Academy on Monday.

“We’re excited, we feel we have a chance to win,” Loehnis said. “We’re excited, we feel we have a chance to win,” Loehnis said. “Hopefully, it will be a great tournament for our team.”