With their season wrapping up, The Hawthorne High School varsity girl’s tennis team competed in the Passaic County Tournament on Friday, October 12; Tuesday, October 16; and Wednesday, October 17.

Hawthorne went into the tournament with both singles and doubles teams. Emily Provencher, Stephanie Doot, and Paige Stroh played in the singles matches, while Alexis Miele, Nicole Psota, Jenna Dyksen, and Dannielle Hampson played doubles matches. First round and quarterfinals were an 8-game pro set format, while the semifinals and beyond used a traditional 6-game, best 2 out of 3 sets. The tournament was split into three days due to many rain delays.

In the singles bracket, on Friday, October 12, Provencher suffered a tough loss in the first round to West Milford (2-8). Doot, in the second singles, gained a strong (7-0) advantage over Passaic before the match was postponed due to rain. She completed the match on Wednesday, October 17, with a win (8-0), but lost in the quarterfinals to Pompton Lakes (6-8). “I was proud of how I played,” Doot said. “Even though I lost, I can use this for experience and improve.” Paige Stroh entered the third singles bracket and won her first two games (8-5) against DePaul and (8-3) against Pompton Lakes, but lost to Wayne Valley (3-6; 1-6) in the semifinals.

The first-round doubles started off strong with Alexis Miele and Nicole Psota defeating Passaic (8-5). Quarterfinals were not as promising as they lost to Wayne Hills (2-8). In the second doubles, Jenna Dyksen and Danielle Hampson pulled off two victories, (8-2) against Passaic Valley and (3-6;2-6) against Mary Help of Christians, taking them all the way to the semifinals. They ended their streak losing to Wayne Hills.

Emily Provencher, a senior and one of three varsity tennis captains, sees improvement in this year’s season; she also sees a strong season in the future. “We had a better record this year among us,” Provencher said. “I’m confident that are leaving the team in more-than-capable hands of the underclassmen.”