Unionville tops D-West in battle of tennis unbeatens

East Marlborough >> In a battle of two undefeated Chester County girls tennis teams Thursday, host Unionville came out on top, sweeping the doubles matches in a 5-2 win against Downingtown West.
The Indians (now 7-0) also got a straight set (6-3, 6-4) win from junior Leah Walter at first singles, who improved her record to 7-0. Last fall, Walter captured the Ches-Mont American League singles title as a sophomore.
“Leah is one of the smartest players I’ve ever coached,” said Unionville head coach Janet Johnston. “She knows when to rally and when to apply heat. She has played in a lot of tough matches, but has a quiet confidence that really shines through on the court.”
Walter defeated Downingtown West’s talented freshman Tanya Pant, who came into Thursday’s match with a 4-1 record, her only loss coming to Episcopal Academy standout Ashley Kennedy.
“I thought I played a good match today; my first serve was pretty effective and my net play was good,” said Walter.
Unionville’s first doubles team of sophomore Faith Ilgner and freshman Jaclyn Santaguida improved their record as a duo to 7-0 this fall with a 7-5, 6-4 win Thursday, coming back after trailing in the first set 4-3.
“We kept hanging in there,” said Santaguida. “Faith has a good ground stroke.”
“Our skills complement each other well,” said Ilgner. “Jaclyn has a good putaway.”
Unionville’s second doubles team of senior Josie Liu and freshman Catherine Stone earned a 6-4, 6-4 win.
“We were serving well today, so we really had to try to take advantage of the net today,” said Liu.
Unionville had a freshman on each of its top three doubles teams Thursday, with ninth-grader Sophie Walter pairing with senior Maura Blair at third doubles for a 6-4, 6-4 win.
“Downingtown West has a strong team, and we had a lot of long volleys against them today,” said Blair. “We stayed tough and positive in adversity.”
Unionville completed the doubles sweep with a 6-4, 6-2 win at fourth doubles by seniors Mia Maccario and Alexia Narun.
“I knew today would be a tremendously fun, challenging match,” said Johnston. “Downingtown West has a lot of experienced, well-coached players. I told our players that this [match] is what you play for.”
Downingtown West (6-1) came out on top in straight set wins at second singles and third singles.
At second singles, D-West sophomore Sophia Koons earned a 6-1, 6-3 victory to improve her record to 6-0. One of her wins this fall was against powerful Episcopal Academy, which helped the Whippets earn a 4-3 victory against the Churchwomen.
“My first serve was good today, and I was keeping the ball in play [well],” said Koons, whose mother (Nicole Benedix Koons) is a former Villanova basketball star and a member of the VU Hall of Fame (Induction Class of 2009).
At third singles, Whippet senior Lily Shi earned a gritty 6-3, 6-3 win, battling through the second set after getting a cramp in her left ankle midway through the second set.
“I felt like I needed to finish it [the second set],” said Shi.
Coming into Thursday’s match, Downingtown West had won five of its matches by a 7-0 score, plus a 4-3 win against powerful Episcopal Academy.
Downingtown West head coach Justin DePietropaolo said, “Our doubles teams all played close matches today. I told our team that this match is a good measuring stick for us right now, and that there’s a lot of [tennis] season left. Even though we lost two great players in Jordan Bradley and Holly Koons to graduation last spring, we’ve played well so far this season. Our players at second and third singles really stepped up, and we’re got a very talented player at first singles in Tanya Pant.”

Unionville 5, Downingtown West 2
Singles
1. L. Walter (UN) def. Pant (DW) 6-3, 6-4. 2. Koons (DW) def. Garg (UN), 6-1, 6-3. 3. Shi (DW) def. Sehgal (UN), 6-3, 6-3.
Doubles
1. Ilgner/Santaguida (UN) def. Dehart/Sehgal (DW), 7-5, 6-4. 2. Liu/Stone (UN) def. Zeblum/Kalmady (DW), 6-4, 6-4. 3. Blair/S.Walter (UN) def. Pacheco/Dale (DW), 6-4, 6-4. 4. Maccario/Narun (UN) def. Minnier/Madel (DW), 6-4, 6-2.