HORSEHEADS – For the second year in a row the Norwich Purple Tornado will advance to the New York State Championship to compete with the best of the best from across the state in varsity girls tennis.
This season, fall 2016, Norwich qualified four athletes for the state qualifier meet, to which they all competed in the doubles competition this past weekend in Horseheads on Friday Oct 21, through Saturday, Oct. 22.
Friday consisted of two forward rounds for the eight pairs in the state qualifier tournament. The Tornado athletes consisted of Makenzie Maynard and Caroline Stewart as the top Norwich duo; as well as the team of Megan Burke and Brooke Steigerwald.
Maynard and Stewart were drawn into the qualifying tournament as the two seed, and when all was said and done enjoyed the most success on the day – claiming a second place finish overall.
Maynard and Stewart defeated their first round opponents – Mackenzie Hyde and Alaina Strife of Horseheads – by a score of 6-1 and 7-5 to advance to the semifinals.
“Down 5-1 in the second set, the duo (Maynard and Stewart) made a great come back to take the set 7-5. It was a great comeback that gave us confidence that we carried into the next match,” said Norwich head coach John Stewart.
Maynard and Stewart were then faced with the challenge of Union Endicott's Bri Harmon and Cailey Haynes – a easily handled win for the Tornado girls who downed the Tiger duo by a score of 6-0 and 6-1.
“(Union Endicott match) was clearly our best play of the tournament. That match put us in the final. The scores sometimes don’t reflect the quality of play or the closeness of the match,” said coach Stewart.
This win over UE concluded Norwich play for the Friday forward rounds.
Come Saturday, Maynard and Stewart stepped onto the court for their biggest match in 2016 thus far, facing off against number one seeded Alina Halyon and Claire Loughlin of Seton Catholic. This specific matchup between the Norwich and Seton Catholic top teams marked a rematch from the 2015 finals – where Seton walked away the victors.
