Last Monday and Tuesday, the varsity tennis team competed in the Division III Regional Tournament to qualify for the state tournament. Playing singles for Sacred Heart were Mariella Congeni ’23 and Olivia Boyd ’22.

Olivia was up first and had no problems taking down Ursuline’s line 1 singles player 6-0, 6-1. She also dominated her second round match landing her a spot in the semi-finals and punching her ticket to state. In the semi-finals, Olivia played Newman’s line 1 singles player and played extremely well, but ultimately lost. Mariella Congeni ’23 qualified for state because of her record and standing and faced in her first match a tough Newman line 2 singles player. Congeni started out with a 4-0 lead and held on to win the first set 6-3. The second set started out with 2 games for Newman, but Congeni fought and never looked back, winning the next 6 games, the set and the match. The next round for Congeni was the semi-finals where she played an impressive athlete from John Curtis but stayed the course and demonstrated that hard work pays off with an impressive 6-2, 6-1 win and she advanced to the regional finals. Mariella lost in the finals to the Newman line 1 player to become the singles regional runner-up. 

On the doubles courts, matches were already underway. First up were Grace Evans ’21 and Gracie Jenkins ’21. The pair played extremely well and did not have any problems beating Ursuline in the first round. In the second round, the duo had an unfortunate draw and a very tough match. Grace and Gracie played the best tennis they have played together as Cardinals, but dropped the first set 2-6. The second set was back and forth the entire way with a tie at 6-6, bringing the second set to a tie-breaker. Evans and Jenkins came out strong with a good lead in the tie breaker, but unfortunately the rest didn’t go their way and lost in the tie-breaker. The doubles team played great together and for their last match as Cardinals made their team so incredibly proud.

May Manning ’21 and Elizabeth Maniscalco ’21 also played in regionals. The team had a bye in the first round which placed them in a qualifying match against St. Charles Catholic. The team was no match for our experienced senior team who took care of business with a 6-0, 6-0 victory and a place in the state tournament. Next up, Manning and Maniscalco took on the Newman line 1 doubles team and lost in the quarterfinals. 

Last to take the doubles court were Sofia Rodriguez ’23 and Virginia Crocker ’25. They also had a bye and started out in a qualifying match, which was no problem for these two. They advanced easily to the quarterfinals where they faced Archbishop Hannan. Again the team dominated winning 6-0, 6-1. In the semi-finals, Rodriguez and Crocker impressively and patiently beat Newman’s line 2 doubles team putting them in the finals against the line 1 team from Newman. The last match on the regional courts, the teammates watched and cheered for their fellow Cardinals. The first set was tight. Rodriguez patiently set the pace from the baseline setting up Crocker at the net. The pair played so well and the first set went to a tiebreaker, but the Cardinals were unable to win the first set. The second set was equally tight with long points and great gets, but unfortunately this set also went to the Greenies. Rodriguez and Crocker also finished as doubles regional runner-up gaining points for the team for an overall team runner up win in regionals.

This week the team is competing in the state championship at ULM in Monroe, Louisiana. Let’s go, Cardinals!!