Woodstock
As if things couldn’t get any better for the Wasps.
Woodstock, the defending VPA Division II champion, won its first four matches at No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 singles and No. 1 doubles to secure an eventual 6-1 victory over Burr & Burton on Monday afternoon at the Woodstock Athletic Club.
The Wasps are 13-0 with one regular season match remaining, had shut out their last five opponents before facing the Bulldogs and are a combined 31-1 in the last two seasons.
“We have a lot of the same girls from last year,” Woodstock junior Kenzie Biele said. “We’ve all been playing for a really long time. It’s really nice that we are doing as well as we are. … This year, we’re trying to get that title again to try to keep it. That adds a different kind of momentum. Instead of trying to break the losing streak, we’re trying to keep our winning streak.”
Kenzie Biele, one half of Woodstock’s twin tennis duo with her sister, Momo, overcame the biggest obstacle of the day, defeating BBA’s Sarah Asciutto, 6-1, 6-2. Asciutto gave her fits the last time the two teams met during a 5-2 Woodstock victory on May 2, winning the match 6-3, 6-1. It was Biele’s only loss of the season.
“Mental toughness,” Hopewell said of the difference between Kenzie Biele’s two matches against Asciutto. “Our game plan that we talked about and her ability to work that game plan. … That’s the sign of a mentally tough tennis player.”
Added Kenzie Biele: “Last time I played her, it was the beginning of the season. We were both a little rough, a little rusty. It was fun to play her again.”
Momo Biele handled BBA’s Hannah Headburg, 6-2, 6-0, at No. 1 singles. Woodstock senior Grace Frazier won at No. 2 singles, 6-2, 6-2, and the Marsicovetere-Howe duo defeated the Bulldogs’ Meghan Quinn and Katie Liell, 6-0, 6-1, in a match that looked a lot closer on paper.
Marsicovetere and Howe began playing tennis last season as freshmen, late in the game for a sport that seems to favor athletes to begin training early and often. Marsicovetere and Howe played a key role at No. 2 doubles last season, winning in the D-II championship match against Montpelier, 7-6 (8-6), 6-2, to help the Wasps win their first title since 2000. The two haven’t looked back since.
“I think, after last year, we had a little bit of pep in our step, but we didn’t want to take advantage of that,” Howe said. “We wanted to go into it with a new perspective.”
Added Marsicovetere: “The beginning of last season we were both new players. It helps having someone else out on the court that can help.
“We like to talk,” she added. “It’s easy for us to talk to each other, give each other feedback.”
Hopewell thought the pair made a natural fit when he put them together last season, a stroke of foresight that has paid off for the veteran coach.
“They worked harder in tryouts than I’ve seen anybody workout,” Hopewell said on his initial impressions of the pair. “They never gave up on a ball. Their tenacity, even though they didn’t have the skill sets, there just wasn’t a ball Olivia was going to let go. … Lydia Howe, I’m talking, ‘OK, we’re going to get into a long axis rotation with pronation at the top,’ she gets it. Not just gets it, she can perform it.
“It is a unique a situation I’ve had in 20 years of coaching,” he added.
Woodstock’s Katey MacMaster faced another tough match with BBA’s Spencer North at No. 4 singles, eventually coming away with the win, 6-3, 6-4. MacMaster and North went three sets two weeks ago in a 6-3, 5-7, 10-8 marathon. Chloe Noble gave the Wasps their other win, a 6-1, 6-0 decision over Kali Brandt at No. 5 singles. Newcomers Juliana Beraldie and Izzy Hiller were the Wasps’ only loss of the day, 4-6, 3-6, at No. 2 doubles.
“I don’t know that we expected anything, really, after a good season last year,” Momo Biele said. “We didn’t want to take anything for granted or expect anything and have it hurt us, so we really just kept an open mind.”
Woodstock made history one year ago by defeating Montpelier, the thorn its side over the last decade, 4-3 in the D-II championship match, finishing the season 18-1. The Solons, who entered last year’s title match as the two-time reigning champs, had bounced Woodstock from seven consecutive D-II tournaments from 2008-16. The Wasps’ title last season ended the trend.
One year later, Woodstock’s path to a D-II final might — finally — not go through the Solons. Montpelier lost its first six matches to the start the season and is 2-7 following Monday’s 6-1 loss to North Country. Harwood (9-0) is the only other undefeated team in D-II; a schedule full of D-I opponents would give the Highlanders the tournament’s top seed if the playoffs began today.
The Wasps, however, aren’t worried. Momo Biele said she doesn’t scoreboard watch, focusing her attention on the next opponent. Kenzie Biele said the team’s win over D-I’s Stowe, a 4-3 victory on the road, has given the team some confidence. Hopewell said the team is in a better place than it this time a year ago.
“A little bit less of that angst (this year), a little less anticipation,” Hopewell said. “I still want these guys to focus on what it is that we’re looking for. … Do I feel like we’re ready? Yes. Do I feel like there’s a Harwood or somebody we haven’t seen (who can give Woodstock a challenge)? Oh yeah. We’re going to amp it.”
Woodstock closes out its season at home against Springfield on Wednesday. The D-II tournament is scheduled to begin early next week.
Josh Weinreb can be reached at jweinreb@vnews.com or 603-727-3306.