A win against Staples in the 2025 CIAC Class LL Tournament final gave the Greenwich High School varsity girls tennis team a sweet repeat and a victory over those same rival Wreckers in the state tournament’s championship match on June 3 made it a terrific three-peat for the Cardinals, who were as perfect as a team could be during another memorable spring season.

Top-seeded Greenwich capped an undefeated season by winning the CIAC Class LL Girls Tennis Tournament with a 4-0 win over second-seeded Staples in the championship match under idyllic weather conditions at New Canaan High School. Their latest victory put the finishing touch on a 22-0 season for the Cardinals, who have now recorded two straight 22-0 campaigns for a 44-0 mark and have won 48 consecutive matches dating back to when they captured the Class LL title in 2024.

“I’m really proud of us,” said Greenwich High senior captain Shining Sun, who successfully played at No. 1 singles. “To me, it’s less about the record itself. It’s how consistent we are. It shows how hard everyone works. You can’t pull off 44 miraculous wins, everyone works so hard throughout the year. Every single match, they go out with their best mind, best foot forward and they just give it their all day after day.”

It was truly a dominant season for Greenwich, which shut out the opposition in 15 of its 22 victories this season, showcasing its superior depth and sensational play throughout the season.

“It’s a full circle moment, a good way to end the season – undefeated – and it’s super exciting,” said Cardinals senior captain Caitlin Mahoney, who excelled at No. 2 singles during her entire varsity career. “As a senior, it’s a really positive way to end the season.”

This Class LL final was a rematch of the previous two state tournament title matches, also won by Greenwich. The Cardinals defeated the Wreckers for the Class LL crown in 2025, 4-0 and were victorious versus Staples in the 2024 state final, also by a 4-0 score.

Greenwich’s last loss came against New Canaan in the 2024 FCIAC final. Since then, the Cardinals have experienced nothing but success, winning 48 straight matches, including two FCIAC championships and now, three Class LL titles. Cardinals coach Jerry Sulli discussed the achievements of his squad, which was a mix of senior/junior experienced players and inexperienced varsity level freshman athletes

“It definitely was quite a team, considering that we had six freshmen, three who were in the starting ten, so I didn’t know what to expect,” Sulli said, following Greenwich’s title win against Staples. “You don’t know how well the freshmen are going to jell with the rest of the team, but I give credit to our team, especially the seniors, they went out of their way to bring the freshmen to our team. They made them feel welcome and everyone played well.”

In the 2026 Class LL championship match against rival Staples, Greenwich received singles victories from Sun and Mahoney and doubles victories from senior captain Maddy Wilber and freshman Sofia Rodriguez Guerrero and seniors Bella Barban and Olivia Popp. The other three matches were not completed, since GHS clinched the victory after its fourth win.

Sun was victorious at No. 1 singles against Staples’ Olivia Lazar, 6-0, 6-0.

“Usually, I’m a pretty aggressive player, I like hitting the ball hard,” Sun said of her No. 1 singles match against Lazar. “Today, even if I hit a really good shot, or hit a hard shot, she would return it and she would give me a good ball back.”

“She has a really good forehand angle, so I got nervous angling off of my forehand,” Sun continued. “So, I was thinking that I have to take a step back and said, I’m going to remain consistent until I have that ball to hit it and go for it all.”

Mahoney won her match in straight sets against Amelia Berkowitz of the Wreckers at second singles, 6-2, 6-4. During her four-year varsity career at Greenwich, Mahoney went undefeated at No. 2 singles every regular season.

“Me, Shining and Maddy (Wilber), we lost in the state finals (to New Canaan) as a freshmen,” Mahoney noted. “This is full circle being able to end out our senior year with a perfect season.”

Senior Maddy Wilber and freshman Sofia Rodriguez Guerrero concluded a standout season at No. 1 doubles with an impressive 6-2, 6-3 triumph against Rachel Guzman/Azita Vazhayil of Staples.

“It’s really great, because this is my last match as a senior, so it’s nice to end it on a high note,” Wilber said. “Sophia and I worked really well together all season.”

Rodriguez Guerrero reflected on she and Wilber’s success at the top doubles spot and their strategy in the Class LL final against their formidable Staples foes.

“We played really well, we had some ups and downs, but we did it together and that’s the best part of doubles,” Rodriguez Guerrero said. “You don’t have to face it alone, you have a partner. The strategy was to push them around the court as much as possible. We tried to find ways to get them apart and go down the middle. Winning the state championship feels great – very accomplished.”

The highly experienced senior doubles team of Barban and Popp were a straight set success for GHS, topping Staples’ Isabel Alfageme/Aanya Gandhi, 6-0, 6-2, at No. 2.

“We came into this match thinking, knowing it was going to be a tough one,” Popp noted. “We played them last year in the final and just a week ago and it was already tough, so we came here really prepared mentally and physically.”

Greenwich also played Staples in the FCIAC final recently, earning a 4-0 win for its second straight conference championship.

“During the match, if there were any upsides or downsides, we pushed through it,” Popp said of the Class LL final against Staples. “Knowing your partner is there for you is always so nice. We have such a strong partnership. We know each other’s style of play, we know how we play together, it’s just really strong and I think that helped us a lot.”

Barban also discussed their doubles victory against the Wreckers in the winner-take-all championship match.

“We had really good rallies and groundstrokes and we were able to set up the ball for our partner to hit a nice volley,” Barban said. “We were able to tire them out to get them to make errors.”

As for playing her final match with the Cardinals?

“It’s definitely sad,” Barban said. We’ve grown with these people, we have six seniors on the team, so it’s sad – bittersweet. “It means a lot to the seniors, this is our last match as a team, especially the seniors, it’s a great way to end off the season and finish out our four years.”

Junior Avery Li enjoyed a successful season at third singles for the Cards. She will be relied upon to help lead the lineup next season. Li was edged by Staples’ Adrianna Gavrilou, 6-4, in the first set and their second set was in progress when GHS clinched the title match.

“This is our three-peat win at states and it’s so exciting to continue our streak,” Li said. “It’s really exciting and it shows that everyone’s hard work paid off and it’s really great to come off with such a good note with this win. Everyone worked really hard and it’s so deserving.”

“I’m definitely going to miss our seniors, we have six of them,” Li said, while reflecting on the season. “There will be a void without them. Hopefully, we’ll continue to have a great season and continue the streak.”

Chloe Culver was one of the three starting freshmen in the lineup. She flourished at fourth singles for the Cards and was ahead, 6-2, 5-2, against Kai Senger of the Wreckers when GHS clinched the match.

“It feels so good, we worked hard the whole season and I love these girls,” Culver said. “It feels really good to win this title that we’ve been working for all season.”

She fondly looked back on her freshman season as a member of the Cardinals.

“It’s been amazing,” Culver said.” I did sports every season at Greenwich High School and this team is especially tight knit, because it’s just a small bunch of us, so I’ve loved it with all these girls,” Culver said. “I’m going to miss the seniors a lot next year, they mean so much.”

Sibley and Gupta won the first set of their match against Staples’ Dylan Lehner/Emme Steinberg, 6-3 and were down 4-5 in the second set when Greenwich clinched the match and another state title. Sibley and Gupta provided were rock-solid at the No. 3 doubles position all season. Sibley provided insight to the No. 3 doubles matchup versus Staples.

“We’ve played them before, we had really tight matches,” Sibley said. “The first time we played them in the regular season, we lost the first set and then ended up coming back. When we played them in FCIAC finals, we didn’t finish. The first set we were winning the second set we were down. So, coming into it, we knew we had played them before, we were familiar with how they played. We had talked about what we needed to do, which was be consistent, deep balls, so that’s what we tried to do going into the match.”

Sibley was another senior on the squad who experienced only success as a member of the Cardinals.

“This was a really special way to end it,” said Sibley, who will soon attend the University of North Carolina. “I’m really excited and happy that this is how it ended, because I had such an amazing experience, such an amazing team and amazing coaches. I’ve loved every second of it and it’s been so fun and I’m going to be so sad not to play next year.” 

So, what have been some of the keys to Greenwich’s great success? Sibley provided some of her thoughts.

“Everyone is so supportive and every practice, we practice what we haven’t been doing well,” she noted. “We’re always improving, we’re always working. Whatever wasn’t working, the next day in practice that’s what we were working on.”

As for her improvement as a player each season?

“I owe it to my teammates and coaches for helping me get better as a player and a person,” Sibley said. “I had a partner who is a freshman and I think it’s really great to play with someone younger, because you can show them that this is what it takes – the dedication, the effort – you set a good example showing them what it takes to be on a team like this – a team that wins states and FCIACS.”

Said Gupta, Sibley’s effective doubles partner, of her freshman season on the squad: “It was really good, especially winning FCIACs and states, so it was really nice. I learned a lot this season. I learned to trust each other. The biggest thing I learned was how to trust in your partner and how to work together.”

Greenwich advanced to the CIAC Class LL tourney final by defeating Fairfield Ludlowe in the semifinal-round, 4-1. Mahoney won in straight sets at No. 2 singles, 7-5, 6-0 and Li was victorious in a three-setter at third singles, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1.

Culver earned a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 4. The Cardinals now have 13 state tennis championships to their collection, with the titles coming in 2026, 2025, 2024, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 1999, 1997, 1996, 1995, 1990 and 1989.

Mahoney mentioned how enjoyable her role as one of the Cards’ captains was.

“It was so easy, everyone was so nice,” she said. “It’s such a welcoming group of girls. In the beginning, we had a lot of new players, so we had to build our chemistry, but now at the end of the season, looking back, I’m so happy of how far we have come and I just think we really meshed well as a team.”

Indeed, the state championship win was a perfect way to end the Cardinals’ latest season of perfection.

“It’s bittersweet as things are this year,” Sun said. “During our huddle, there were a lot of tears going on, because this was our last time playing as a team. All of our seniors spent so long on this team, it’s like a tradition for us. Each spring, we go out and play matches and then all of a sudden, it’s over. It’s something we look forward to every year. Not just the matches, but the team itself, because that’s what really makes this so special.”