All season, Audrey and Ava Todd took great comfort knowing the other was on the next court playing for Roland Park Country School’s tennis season. When the sisters left the court Thursday afternoon at McDonogh School, they were able to acknowledge the other the same.
Champion. The duo captured the singles’ crown at the IAAM A Tournament finals, helping Roland Park win its third consecutive championship glass bowl.
The Reds won four of the five championship matches, completing a campaign which they only lost two individual matches in regular season play. Roland Park coach Cheryl Lynch said the program’s success is part of the school’s fabric.
“It’s become part of the Roland Park culture,” said Lynch. “We promote it early in the middle school and that translates into the upper school, and the girls become excited about it. It’s like a groundswell.”
Bryn Mawr denied the Reds of a finals’ sweep as top-seed Aleeza Hashmi and Ellie MacLaughlin topped Kelsey Dwyer and Kristin Polk for the No. 1 doubles title. In No. 2 doubles, sophomores Hera Kolitsos and Katie Tutrone swept Bryn Mawr’s Amna Hashmi and Ali McShane in straight sets. Kolitsos and Tutrone swept all 12 matches in the fall.
Juniors Heather Tros and Niccola Lynch completed a tourney sweep to the No. 3 doubles crown with a 6-3, 6-4 decision over Emma Afrookteh and Eliza Montague from Bryn Mawr.
Audrey Todd avenged her lone regular season loss, dethroning McDonogh School’s Kristina Centenari, 7-5 and 6-4. With Centenari nursing a shoulder injury, Todd said she tried to take advantage.
“She was serving differently because of her shoulder, so I tried to attack her serve more,” said Audrey Todd. “The first time I played her, the match took two hours, so I tried to make it a shorter match, just keep hitting it in play. The wind was a factor, but I tried to adapt.”
Just hoping to make the varsity back in August, Ava Todd finished off a perfect season with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over St. Paul’s Marta Cherpak. Ava Todd admitted nerves had started settling on her.
“My team was counting on as wins as possible to win the championship, so I knew winning would really help,” Ava Todd said. “I was just hoping to make varsity. I knew my sister was going to be playing No. 1, but I was hoping to get the No. 2 singles spot.
She [Audrey] usually beats me, so it’s hard sometimes to deal with that. We always try to support each other when we play, we usually play next to each other.”
Ava got the best of her sister during a practice session during the season. Audrey is excited about having another season alongside her sister.
“I played with her a lot over the summer at clubs and on vacation. It’s nice to have her for support,” said Audrey Todd. “Even when we were playing challenge matches, it would be okay win or lose because she’s my sister.”
