Woodstock
Woodstock (14-2) lost to Montpelier 4-3, marking its seventh consecutive loss in the semifinal round to the same opponent.
Three of Woodstock’s matches ended in tiebreakers, two of which turned into the deciding matches. But defeats early in the afternoon hurt the second-ranked Wasps down the stretch.
“They play a tougher schedule,” Hopewell said. “They see all the northern teams. But they don’t see Mount Anthony, which gave us a tough outing. They don’t see Burr & Burton. I’m glad we got those tough outings because we needed them.
“I would have loved to see (Montpelier) in the regular season.”
No. 3 Montpelier will play No. 1 Harwood in the D-II championship match on Thursday. The Highlanders outlasted No. 4 Burr & Burton, 4-3, to advance to their first title match in program history.
The Wasps got an early victory from freshman phenom Momo Biele at No. 1 singles, defeating Montpelier’s Lyvia Bashara 6-1, 6-3. But Woodstock’s other early matches did not go as planned, as sophomore Grace Frazier at No. 2 singles, senior captain Morgan Hartman at No. 3 singles, and No. 1 doubles pair Katey MacMaster and Chloe Noble all dropped their early matches to give the Solons a 3-1 head start.
MacMaster and Noble, both freshman, were taken to the brink against Montpelier’s No. 1 doubles pairing of Maggie Nowlan and Isabelle Boutin. The Wasps swept the first set 6-0, but couldn’t find their rhythm in the second set, falling 4-6. Nowlan and Boutin finally pulled away in the tiebreaker, 8-10, putting Woodstock in a deep hole.
The No. 2 doubles pair of Elise Geschardt and Emma King, both seniors, swept Montpelier’s Lizzie Cossett and Antonia Bean 6-0, 6-0 to put the Wasps within striking distance. Focus then shifted to the far courts at Woodstock Athletic Club, where freshman Kenzie Biele, at No. 4 singles, and Findseisen, at No. 5 singles, were playing side-by-side for the decision.
Kenzie Biele finished first, despite some visible frustration in a 6-7 second-set loss after a relatively smooth 6-3 first-set victory. Biele won the tiebreaker 7-5 against the Solons’ Brynn Bushey, pushing the score to 3-3. Findseisen lost shortly thereafter, 5-7, 6-7 (5-7).
“That was as close as you can get,” Hopewell said.
Hopewell didn’t want to look too much at the matchups heading into yet another postseason meeting with the Solons. He had done that before in his 19 seasons at the helm. Instead, Hopewell chose to rely on his strengths this time around — veteran leadership mixed with some youthful enthusiasm — to take the Wasps as far as they would go.
The problem occurred in the rubber matches that ended the wrong way, like the loss at No. 3 singles by Hartman, a veteran and a team captain, as well as the No. 1 doubles pair that had been consistently strong all year. But Hopewell knows his program is still in good shape with a group of eight freshmen — including four starters this season — that will only continue to grow.
“This kind of diversity of players, the freshmen, the seniors, a junior and a sophomore thrown in there, to me that’s unique and very rewarding,” Hopewell said. “The Biele twins, MacMaster, Noble, that’s a nice group of freshmen to have on your team.
“Four starters for the next four years? That’s not bad. We’re pretty excited.”