Newtown High School’s girls’ tennis team captured the South-West Conference Championship in mid May.

“We were so excited. After such a winning season with only one loss to Weston it was very rewarding to beat them in the finals,” Coach Maureen Maher said.

“Going into the individual tournament we had a player in every position. All seven positions qualified to be in the tournament — we had three number one seeds,” the coach added. “Together, as a team, we won enough points to clinch the SWC Championship. A total team effort.”

The Nighthawks had a total large team effort throughout the season. Maher and Assistant Coach Nancy Anderson had the challenging task of assigning spots in the lineup to a large field of players.

“It was a little more challenging this year with 20 players but I couldn’t be happier. The spots were figured out pretty early. The players not at the top of our ladder were able to get in a couple matches and also to play the extra players on the other teams. They all definitely improved,” Maher said.

“I told the entire team, whether you were a player who played or a player sitting on the sidelines cheering for their teammates, we all played a part in winning this championship. Between our teammates, wonderful, amazing parents and coaches, we won this championship,” the coach added.

The Nighthawks move on to state tournament play but no matter how that goes the conference crown will be a memory for the players to carry for years to come.

“We were very excited for our seven seniors to leave with such a great season and a SWC Title,” Maher said.

The singles lineup has been led by underclassmen, sophomore Willow Assante-LaBash and freshman Nadia Andrew at the top of the ladder. A combination of players have stepped by with the senior class represented by Caitlin Briggs, Olivia Guizzo, Joey Libero, Molly Lyddy, Erin Marshall, Kristen Reisert, and Madison Singlak. Andrew, Singlak, and Sophia Dutsar all won singles titles in SWCs.

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.