From their first win of the season, a victory against Fairfield Ludlowe on April 6, to their 18th, a triumph over rival Staples on May 26, the members of Greenwich High School’s varsity girls tennis team displayed the skill, stamina and determination that champions are made of.

And win No. 18, gave the Cardinals a championship.

Sweeping another opponent, top-seeded Greenwich earned a sweet repeat, earning a 4-0 victory over second-seeded Staples in the championship match of the FCIAC Tennis Tournament at New Canaan High School. With the win, the Cardinals improved their record to a perfect 18-0 and added to their collection of FCIAC Tournament titles.

Greenwich, which topped Fairfield Ludlowe for the 2025 FCIAC championship, now has captured the conference tournament 14 times in its storied history.

“It’s really nice, but I feel its less for me being a senior, because I already won last year and of course, winning FCIACs is amazing,” Greenwich senior captain/No. 1 singles player Shining Sun said of the Cardinals’ dynamic this season. “Usually, we would have a few people join the team this year, but this year, we have so many new faces.”

“It’s a new team, but it’s also so special, it’s a new victory, it’s like a new beginning for our team I feel like,” Sun continued.

Greenwich captured the title with the victory over one of its main rivals in the final by receiving two singles and doubles victories. The other three matches were not completed, since the Cardinals clinched the match with their fourth win.

The Cardinals, coached by Jerry Sulli, clinched the match courtesy of their No. 2 doubles team – seniors Bella Barban and Olivia Popp. Barban and Popp continued their outstanding season, posting an impressive 6-0, 6-3 win over senior Isabel Alfageme and Aanya Gandhi.

“It feels really good, it feels really special that we were able to be one of the four again to do it,” Barban said. “We’re really excited to get to go to states and hopefully, face some good competition there too.”

Teamwork and consistency once again enabled Barban and Popp to prevail in this winner-take-all match.

“We had a rough patch in the middle of the match, but I think that we know our playing styles and we communicate well together,” Popp said. “Even though there were ups-and-downs in the match, having the other person in times of the downs be there for you and I also think we were pretty aggressive at net, so that helped a lot.”

“It feels really good,” Barban said of the championship win. “Having your partner set you up really well to be able to close out a point feels really good.”

With their victory over Staples in the FCIAC Tournament final, the Cardinals have now won 44 consecutive matches dating back to the 2024 season. Greenwich won the final four matches of the 2024 season on its way to winning the CIAC Class LL Tournament championship, went 22-0 to win the FCIAC and Class LL titles one season ago and is 18-0 so far this spring.

“We’re both seniors, so ending on such a high note and carrying on the streak is so nice,” Popp noted. “Just being part of this team with such a big win streak is an amazing experience.”

In singles action, senior captain Caitlin Mahoney kept her undefeated record intact, registering a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Wreckers junior Amelia Berkowitz at the No. 2 spot.

As always, Mahoney displayed excellent shot making, exhibiting her strong serve and groundstrokes.

“I felt really good, I was working on staying consistent and being aggressive when needed and really just going for those short balls,” said Mahoney, who also mentioned how it feels to be part of such a successful tennis program

“t’s very exciting, the energy is very high right now,” Mahoney said. “We have a lot of freshmen on this team, so it’s a new experience for them and it’s really exciting to finish out my senior season this way.”

Freshman Chloe Culver was in top form again for Greenwich at fourth singles. Culver was victorious against Staples freshman Kai Sienger in the title match, 6-0, 6-1.

“Going into it my teammate Avery (Li) had played her before and I was trying to be consistent, but also attack like I normally do,” Culver said. “So, I wanted to have a blend of both consistency and attacking. I was just trying to stay on the ball and stay on top of it.”

Indeed, Culver’s freshman campaign with the Cards couldn’t have gone better so far.

“It means so much to me,” Culver said of the team’s triumph. “I’ve loved playing with all these girls this year, obviously. As a freshman, this school has been so welcoming. I love all the girls and we’ve all worked so hard together, so it means a lot.”

In the No. 1 doubles match, GHS senior Maddy Wilber and freshman Sofia Rodriguez Guerrero were sensation in sweeping Wreckers senior Rachel Guzman and freshman Azita Vazhayil, 6-0, 6-0.

“I feel like we tried to focus on the match and each point, one point at a time and not get too overwhelmed by it being an important match like the FCIAC finals,” said Wilber, a captain.

“It’s really a big win, especially as a freshman, it’s so nice,” Rodriguez Guerrero said.

As for repeating as FCIAC champions and helping the team continue its long winning streak.

“It’s amazing to win as a senior,” Wilber noted. “It’s my last chance, but even being here is pretty great I like playing and this means I can play the most number of matches also.”

At third doubles, Greenwich senior Clara Sibley and freshman Priya Gupta won the first set of their match versus Dylan Lehrer/Emme Steinberg, 6-4. They just began their second set when the Cardinals clinched the match and another FCIAC title.

“It’s really exciting, I’m really happy that we were able to finish it this way, because we worked so hard all season and it feels like this is all of our hard working paying off – winning FCIACs,” Sibley said.

“This is exactly what we intended to do at the beginning of the season, it’s really exciting and I’m really proud of everyone that we did it,” Sibley continued.

Sibley and Gupta have excelled at the third doubles position throughout the season.

“We’re really good at keeping each other positive,” Sibley noted. “One of us will make a mistake and the other one will get it back. We keep a good attitude and we are both really strong at the net, so that’s been really helpful. We play well back, but at the net it’s really good for us offensively.”

Sun came close to winning her match at No. 1 singles. She took the opening set of her match against sophomore Oliva Lazar of the Wreckers, 6-0 and was ahead 5-1 when the Cards clinched the overall matchup.

“They showed how capable they were,” Sun said of her teammates. “The freshmen really pulled through this round. They all played so well.”

Avery Li, a junior, was edged in the first set of her match at third singles by freshman Adrianna Gavriloiu, 7-5 and had just started the second set when the matched was clinched by GHS.

“I feel like I was moving around a lot, which is good,” Li said. “The girl I was playing was so good, her level of play is significantly higher compared to other players. She was so good and was hitting it very hard.”

Greenwich’s FCIAC Tournament championships have occurred in 1977, 1978, 1983, 1989, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2025 and of course, 2026, giving the team 14 conference titles in total.

Now Greenwich turns its attention to the CIAC Class LL State Tennis Tournament, which it has won 12 times in its impressive history. The Cardinals defeated Staples in the CIAC Class LL final in 2025 and also were victorious versus the Wreckers for the state title in 2024.

The seedings will soon be announced for the CIAC state tennis tournaments.

“I’m excited for states, I’m excited to play different teams,” Culver said. “I think it will be a big challenge for us and we’re going to try to go for that title too.”

“I think we just need to keep the same momentum we have right now,” Barban noted. “We know we can do it, we know we can work hard to do it. We just need to keep the same attitude and momentum going.”

“Hopefully, we can continue the state streak and win again,” Li said.

Greenwich’s second doubles team gather to the left, Shining Sun in action to the right.

Greenwich displays its FCIAC title. Caitlin Mahoney in action.