Derry, n.h.
No. 3 Derryfield, which lost to No. 1 Hanover (15-2) and No. 2 Manchester Central (14-2) in the regular season, got revenge on both squads and finished its season-long comeback with a 5-4 win over the Marauders in Thursday’s NHIAA Division I championship match at Pinkerton Academy.
Derryfield defeated Central, 5-4, last week in the D-I semis.
The loss was only Hanover’s second in its past 67 matches dating back four seasons, the last 17 in D-I after the Marauders — who won three championships and 50 straight matches from 2014-16 — moved up to D-I from D-II in the offseason.
Hanover had previously defeated Derryfield in the regular season, 5-4, on May 1.
“I don’t really know how much of a difference there was (between Thursday’s match and Hanover’s earlier win),” said Liz Murray, Hanover’s third year coach. “I think it’s just they’re a very strong team. In terms of their lineup, their lineup is really deep. I think it was a great match to have. … They had the fire.”
The match at No. 1 doubles, the last to finish in Thursday afternoon’s heat, turned out to be the deciding factor. Hanover’s Rine Uhm and Bri Laycock ran out of gas late against Derryfield’s Olivia Husak and Abi Leonardi before falling, 8-6.
The teams were tied 4-4 after splitting six singles and two doubles matches, bringing plenty of tension to the crowd gathered at Uhm’s and Laycock’s court.
Uhm’s match at No. 1 singles against Husak was the closest of the afternoon, with the Hanover senior winning 9-8, 7-1 in the tiebreak. Juniors Mindy Wu (8-0 at third singles) and Laycock (8-3 at fourth singles) rounded out Hanover’s wins before doubles play began.
But Derryfield’s depth was apparent, securing key wins at No. 5 singles, as Nancy Fortin defeated Ellen Lamm, 8-3, and No. 6 singles, with Emma Place over Grace Li, 8-0, to keep the match even.
The Cougars’ biggest win was at No. 2 singles, in which Leonardi mounted a comeback from 5-0 down against Hanover’s Margaret Werner to win, 8-5. The Cougars’ doubles pair of Place and Miranda Shilling won a close match over Hanover’s Werner and Lamm, 8-6, to set up their No. 1 doubles teammates for the win.
Derryfield (15-2) won its first state championship since claiming three straight in Class M-S between 2008-10 and its first since moving up to D-I in 2011. Thursday’s match featured two teams with a long history of success in other divisions.
“Hanover was our turning point,” said Gus Moral, Derryfield’s head coach of 13 seasons. “The match was close. We thought we had our chances. I think that was the match that helped us present the focus, present that opportunity, present that challenge for the girls to realize playing against such a great team.
“Given the history of Hanover, the depth that they have, it’s a great team. For us to be able to be that close with that, certainly it helped the team believe that they could go further.”
The Marauders lose their top two players in Uhm and Werner to graduation, leaving the top of its lineup wide open. But Murray said she was happy with the way her team handled its move up to D-I and isn’t worried about filling holes in her roster.
“I think it went fantastic (in D-I),” Murray said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better regular season, entering into the tournament as the No. 1 seed. These girls played hard every single day. They had to play hard in every match. They fought until the end. Now, we’re looking forward. Onward and upward.
“I can’t express enough how proud I am of these girls for what they did today.”
Josh Weinreb can be reached at jweinreb@vnews.com or 603-727-3306.