Girls’ Tennis Team Hopes Youth Serves It Well

By Andy Hutchison

The fact that there are no seniors on the roster is a good news/bad news scenario for the Newtown High School girls’ tennis team. The Nighthawks — up and down the lineup — are working toward success both this season and next year. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the Hawks expected to have one senior in the lineup this spring. Doubles player Erin Nemeth, however, sustained a knee injury and will not play, leaving the juniors as the veterans on this young squad.

Also gone from a year ago are three graduates who will be missed: No. 2 singles player Katie Serock (had only one loss in 2008) and the top doubles tandem of Maxx Zimmer and Charlotte Manos.

Newtown went 10-3, won its division in the South-West Conference and came in third in the SWC Tournament last year.

Despite the losses to graduation and injury, Coach Maureen Maher said she hopes the team does as well, if not better, than it did a year ago.

“My returning players are better than they were last year and my new players are very excited and ready to get started,” the coach said on a recent rare sunny preseason afternoon.

The team’s captain is junior Christina Ciamarra, who returns to the top singles spot after being there as a sophomore. Other key players back on the court are sophomore Caitlin O’Mahoney and juniors Jenna Himmelfarb, Ashely Cech and Nicole Vournazous. Additionally, sophomore Meaghan Loose and junior Kristen Tanner — who went undefeated as a doubles tandem a year ago — are back.

The usual teams to watch for will be Weston, Joel Barlow and Lauralton Hall, and Pomperaug should also be tough, Maher anticipates. The Nighthawks will look to contend for bragging rights in the SWC along with these teams.

The season was slated to begin Wednesday at Lauralton Hall (after The Bee sports section went to press). Newtown was then scheduled to visit Notre Dame-Fairfield on Thursday and will host Pomperaug on April 13. Some matches to circle on the schedule include: Three straight home contests April 20, 23 and 29 against Barlow, Hall and Weston, respectively, and the season finale May 19 at Barlow.