By TONY BELLISSIMO
It captured the Nassau Conference III championship on Nov. 1 by defeating Carle Place, 5-2.
"I can't believe the season lasted into November, but it was worth the wait," Lady Pirates coach Lori Smith said. "The girls kept a positive attitude and never lost focus. Not playing in a competitive match for so long was difficult. They really had to work for it, and winning the championship means so much to them. They were jumping all over the place."
Mepham (13-1) swept all four doubles battles and had senior Dana McNamara win at first singles as it beat Carle Place for the second time in three weeks. The Frogs were the only team to knock off the Lady Pirates this fall, doing so on Sept. 18. "It's a great sense of accomplishment," Smith explained. "The final match could've gone either way."
Senior Catherine Marando and junior Kerry Murphy completed an undefeated campaign at first doubles with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Kristen Kennedy and Angelica Ho. "They lost only one set all season," Smith said of Marando and Murphy, who went 14-0. "I don't think a single point went by where they didn't click their rackets together. They have a lot of chemistry."
At second doubles, junior Aurora Parlagrecco and sophomore Renee Silver won for the 11th time this fall and had to rally from one set down to do it. Senior Stephanie Waters and junior Hanna Silver got the job done at third doubles, while senior Victoria Winger and junior Lauren Schaab won at fourth doubles and finished 8-4 on the year. Senior Stephanie Rosen's consistency and solid all-around game brought her a record of 12-2 at second singles, and sophomore Larisa Madison impressed at third singles by going 9-4.
The Lady Pirates ended the regular season with a victory over Wantagh on Oct. 17 but didn't open the playoffs until two weeks later when they defeated Oyster Bay in the semifinals, 5-2. McNamara, who won 12 of 14 matches in her second year at first singles, was sharp in defeating Sabrina Layne 6-2, 6-1.
"Dana keeps her emotions in check and her game is a combination of power and finesse," Smith said. "She's part of a tremendous group of seniors that'll be missed."
Comments about this story? tbellissimo@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 204.
