Led by a new head coach, the Chapel Hill women’s tennis team concluded its season with an overall record of 11-4, going 5-3 in the DAC-VII 4A Conference, while also securing historic wins.
Under new head coach Kaili Saffran, who served as an assistant coach last year, the Tigers secured third place in the DAC-VII 4A conference championship on October 11, earning the Tigers a spot in the state playoff tournament.
The Tigers swept Topsail High School on October 18 6-0 to secure their spot in the second round, where the team lost to Broughton High School five days lasster.
Freshman Eliza Basch and her partner sophomore Zoe Zhang qualified as a doubles team in the state competition, but fell short in the first round of the tournament.
Basch reflected upon the team’s achievements with pride, singling out the team’s 5-4 victory over Jordan High School on September 26 as a highlight of the season.
“We’ve had some big accomplishments this year, most notably our defeat of Jordan High School—winning five out of nine matches and beating them for the first time in five years,” she said.
This year’s team was a youthful one, as three of the 11 players were freshman, and the team featured only two seniors, captains Ada Wiltberger and Layla Daily; junior Genevieve Lithgow was also a team captain.
“This season was exciting because we had so many new freshmen who made our varsity team extremely deep in talent,” Wiltberger said.
Saffran singled out Erica Cui as a freshman who made a great impact upon the team.
“Erica Cui had a strong first season as a freshman, qualifying for regionals. During the season, Erica had a big comeback against Carrboro High School, securing that win,” Saffran said.
Cui said her fellow teammates pushed her to improve her game over the course of the season.
“I think the competitiveness of this season comes mainly from how ambitious and determined all of the players are and how much the team and the sport mean to them,” she said. “I know that the team dynamic and support at our school always pushes us to be better and more competitive.”
Saffran, who played collegiately at St. John Fisher University, said she was pleased with her players’ accomplishments this season.
“My first year as head coach was very rewarding by being able to share my tennis knowledge and experience. I have a strong passion for the sport, and it was great being able to coach a team that does as well,” Saffran said.
Wiltberger said she was impressed by the knowledge Saffran brought to the game, which allowed players to improve over the course of the season.
“Coach Saffran was an extremely positive and kind coach who always made practices fun and provided encouraging instruction during matches. It was so exciting having her with the team this year because I feel like she really helped me grow as a player,” Wiltberger said.
Lithgow echoed Wiltberger’s sentiments.
“Coach Saffran was such a great coach this season. She has such a great attitude and is super knowledgeable about tennis. It is clear that she really cared about all of her players and wants us all to do our best,” Lithgow said.
