By Kaitlyn Goldberg – Staff Reporter

The Jonathan Law girls tennis team recently completed a historic spring season.

Law finished the regular season with a 15-1 record, won the SCC Division II Regular Season and Tournament Championships for the first time, and advanced to the semifinals of the Class M State Tournament.

The team was led by head coach Mr. Kulenych, senior captain Jenna Bagdasarian, and junior captain Lucia Pino. 

“Overall the team has been very successful, not just individually but as a team,” Pino said. “Beating the school record and winning SCCs was pretty awesome and I’m super happy to be a part of such an amazing team.”

This year, the team’s singles lineup was made up of Pino, who went All-State for the second time in her career, sophomore Samantha Burns, Bagdasarian, and junior Diya Daruka.

Sophomores Sabrina Lawless and Caroline Doyle went All-SCC at first doubles, Sophie Maselli and Nihitha Kothapalli played second doubles, and freshmen Olivia Hudak and Isabella Gecaj went unbeaten at third doubles. Chloe Haasch, Kaitlyn Goldberg, and Faith Santiago made up the team’s JV squad.

Kulenych said he was unsure of how the team would perform at the beginning of the season because there were so many new faces from two years ago.

“There were so many unknowns and new faces when the year started but the girls worked so hard every day to get better,” Kulenych said. “They are a super-competitive, fun, enthusiastic group of girls that came together and accomplished things that none of us thought were possible at the start of the season.”

The team worked hard at practice every day, focusing on specific shots and strategies.

“We’ve worked on our technique, getting it down to the point where we always hit a ball that’s difficult to return,” freshman Isabella Gecaj said. “We also worked on having a good attitude toward each game and gaining confidence.”

Kulenych said he could not be prouder of the way the team continued to work hard all season.

“This was the most fun I have ever had coaching,” Kulenych said. “There were so many obstacles and protocols and challenges that we had to face on and off the court this year and that makes all of the success we had that much more rewarding.” 

The team had many new players join this season, so making them feel included was something that was very important to the team while also maintaining normal practices.  

“We worked on including all of the new players and becoming a strong team,” Bagdasarian said. “We did many drills in conditioning workouts throughout the season which prepared us for our matches.”

A huge highlight of the season was the team winning a conference championship, which hadn’t been done since 1980.  

“Beating a school record and winning SCCs has been unreal, amazing, extraordinary, and every other synonym,” junior Sophie Maselli said. “Compared to my freshman year this team is defying the odds.”  

Members of the team accomplished individual goals as well.

“Individually I reached a lot of goals this season,” Doyle said. “Coming in I was just hoping to make varsity so when I got the first double spot my goals changed. One of my main things was having a successful backhand volley which I finally got during the SCC finals. I also went All-SCC which I would consider a goal met.”

Kulenych called the year a “dream season.”

“Every year, our goal is to try to be one of the best teams in the SCC,” Kulenych said. “This year, we faced some really strong competition – especially in the SCC Tournament – but the girls rose to the occasion and played their best when it mattered most. Banners are forever and I’m so proud that this group will be remembered forever for what they were able to accomplish.”