The 2024 season was indeed, one to remember for the Greenwich High School varsity girls tennis team and judging by the early-season results, the Cardinals’ 2025 campaign could also be especially memorable.

After winning the CIAC Class LL Tournament championship in 2024, while earning a record of 21-1 in the process, Greenwich sported a sparkling record of 7-0 heading into its road match against FCIAC rival Darien today (April 29). The Cardinals posted their seventh win of the spring on April 28 against visiting Trumbull, registering a dominant 7-0 victory.

The Cardinals won each match against the Golden Eagles in straight sets, resembling a squad that’s already in postseason form. Coached by Gerard Sulli, Greenwich defeated rival Staples, 4-0, to win the CIAC Class Tournament title in 2024. Last season also saw the Cardinals finish the regular season a perfect 15-0, then advance to the championship match of the FCIAC Tournament, where they were edged by New Canaan, another rival. Greenwich’s girls tennis team’s storied history features 11 state championships, with last season’s victory giving the squad its first state title since 2009.

Junior Shining Sun earned the role as the Cardinals’ No. 1 singles player, a spot that has been filled by numerous premier players in the past.

Sun continued her standout season at the top singles spot for the Cardinals, registering a 6-0, 6-0 win over Trumbull’s Ria Beri.

“I think it’s been going pretty good, I’ve had a lot of good matches, some of them were close, some of them were not as close, but I’ve learned a lot from the ones I’ve lost,” Sun said of her season at No. 1 singles so far. “I’ve also gotten better from them and the ones I’ve won.”

Last spring, Sun helped boost the Cardinals’ singles lineup with consistent, strong play at the No. 2 spot.

“It gave me a lot of match experience, because I don’t have a lot of time to play tournaments outside of school,” Sun said. “This is like my tournament so to speak.”

Effectively hitting her groundstrokes, Sun was in control throughout her match against Beri.

“I was feeling really good, I’ve been struggling with my forehand for a while, but I was hitting really clean today and all the ones I missed were barely outside,” Sun noted. “I think it was a good chance to work on my serve, especially my second serve.”

In the No. 1 doubles match, senior Yume Inagawa and Cameron Sowter were perfect, winning their match against Ella Mui and Anqi Wang, 6-0, 6-0. Inagawa and Sowter’s splendid 2024 season was highlighted by them capturing the CIAC Invitational doubles championship at Conard High School in West Hartford.

“We’re definitely prepared for what’s going to come in FCIACs and states and definitely Invitationals,” Sowter said of the competition she knows she and Inagawa will face. “We’re hoping to keep our streak going.”

Greenwich’s No. 1 duo has certainly shown plenty of teamwork and chemistry in their victories so far, especially in the rivalry matches.

“We’ve been steady, we know our skills and we’re not afraid of anything,” Inagawa said. “We have definitely grown from last year. This year we are a lot surer of what we want to do.”

Said Sowter: “We have a lot more chemistry than we did last year. I am a lot more aggressive at the baseline and that sets her up for her poaches and she’s very strong at the net, so our different ways of playing definitely works.”

It worked well against Trumbull, as they held the momentum each set.

“We were working the net and trying to figure out our poaches and that really brought us to our victory,” Sowter said. 

“We were focused on the high percentage shots that we can master,” Inagawa added.

At second singles against Trumbull, junior Caitlin Mahoney was also off the court quickly, posting a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Erin Martini.

“Things have been going really well so far this year for me,” Mahoney said. “I’ve been undefeated so far and I’ve really enjoyed getting to play singles two this year. It’s good experience for me and the competition has been good too.”

“Today, I focused on keeping it consistent and moving my opponent back and forth,” Mahoney continued. “I was going for those angle shots when I got the chance and I think it paid off. I stuck to my plan and I got a good result.”

In the No. 3 singles match, senior Izzy Everett was also a 6-0, 6-0 winner for GHS (7-0). Everett topped Gemma Tomei to add to her win total this season, which has seen her significantly stepped up for the Cards.

“It was really good, I just kept it consistent,” Everett said of her performance. “Like us captains told all the girls, just try your best and try new things and keep the winning streak going. I think everyone was really solid on that part. I was not making errors to get those points.”

“It feels really good playing third singles this year,” Everett added. “All my hard work paid off. The competition has been good. We have new players this year who are really good and they’ve helped us with our lineup and have kept us solid all around.”

Emme Pecorin and Maddy Wilber went undefeated last season at No. 3 doubles for the defending Class LL state champion Cardinals and the duo have picked up right where they left off one season ago.

Pecorin, a senior and Wilber, a junior, won another match for the Cardinals, defeating their Trumbull foes in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1 at No. 2 doubles – their new role.

“So far, we’ve been undefeated and so we’ve been having a really good season,” Pecorin said. The doubles teams are working really well together, the singles players are doing well as well.”

“It’s pretty comparable to last year,” Wilber said. “I think our doubles teams have been working together more this year, so that’s been a little stronger too.”

Indeed, Wilber and Pecorin have plenty of experience on their side against most of the tandems they face.

“This is our third year playing together, so we play together well,” Pecorin noted. “I think every match we’re getting stronger.”

Their 2024 success on the court has certainly carried over into this season.

“It made us more excited going into this year going into it, because we’re still feeling some good energy from last year,” Wilber said.

At fourth singles, Elin Ever was also in fine form. Ever gave the Cardinals an impressive 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 4 versus Trumbull.

In the No. 3 doubles matchup, GHS juniors Clara Sibley and Quinn Campinell were victorious against the Eagles, 6-0, 6-4.

Greenwich visited FCIAC foe Darien today (April 29), then caps another busy week with a home match against Danbury on Thursday (May 1).

“I’m excited to see our team grows and keeps performing,” Mahoney said. “Hopefully, we’ll become undefeated this season. I’m excited to see how the rest of the season goes.”

“Winning FCIACs is one of our goals, because last year we were runner-up and won states,” Everett noted. “I think if we won both titles that would be great.”