Girls Varsity Tennis: Season Outlook

The St. Luke’s Girls Varsity Tennis Team embarks on another campaign this spring with a deep roster of both young and experienced players.

Head Coaches Brinley Ehlers and Tish Tregellas return to help guide the group after a very different 2020 season. There was no interscholastic play, due to the global pandemic, but Girls Varsity Tennis (GVT) made the most of the difficult situation: “Last year, we were lucky enough to run our tennis tryouts prior to spring vacation, so we did get to hit a few tennis balls and establish a team before Covid shut down everything. We had a really positive season via Zoom, with lots of workouts, team bonding and a few special alumni guest appearances. We also had the best Senior Day drive-by parade to celebrate our 2020 class.”

Many of last year’s group return in 2021, and Ehlers is excited to see what the talented roster can achieve on the court: “ Layla Magnusen ‘22, Maddie Fredericks ‘22, Kelly Neuner ‘24, Macy Millones ‘23, CC Buono ‘23, and Kiley Galvin ‘23 joined the team last season but didn’t get to compete, so we are eager to see them in action. We also have Sophie Dekker ‘23 back and have added Liza Sieghart ‘24, Jacqueline Cecil ‘24, Isabel Levi ‘24, and Kate Edwards ‘25, who are all excellent players. I believe this is one of the deepest teams we have seen in a while.”

The squad is captained by Audrey Magnusen ‘21 and Caroline Pellegrino ‘21, and the coaches are confident they will provide the kind of leadership needed for a relatively young group: “Audrey and Caroline are great. They are really positive and have rallied our young team with lots of fun team-bonding activities. They are great role models and leaders, on and off the court, which is exactly what we need from them.”

Ehlers expects the group to compete in every single match this year and is confident that the Storm will finish well in the FAA league, despite the extremely strong competition: “It is a really tough and competitive league. This year is no different. All these teams have highly ranked and rated players at number one and two singles, but we are deep and can be competitive in every match.”

Just as importantly, Ehlers wants her team to enjoy being back on the courts. “We want the girls to have a lot of fun as a team. I already love the vibe of this team. Just little things like watching them tap racquets after each point. They already seem to get along really well. We are looking forward to a great season.”

GVT opens up the season with a home contest against FAA newcomers Greenwich Country Day School on Saturday, April 10, at 1pm, before hosting Greens Farms Academy on Wednesday, April 14.