Having faced their toughest opponents last week at Queensbury and Scotia Glenville and coming through victorious, the Amsterdam Lady Rams tennis team began the second half of their first season in the Foothills Council with a similar result. Amsterdam remained unbeaten on the season with a 7-0 win over South Glens Falls High School Wednesday afternoon at AHS.
Amsterdam dominated the singles play with all five seeds picking up straight set wins. Ella Dybas and Audrey Flint earned 6-0, 6-0 wins with Dybas defeating Paige Moore at No.2 singles and Flint topping Malina Valentine at the No.3 spot. Dybas’ win came on the heels of her closest match of the year last week at Scotia Glenville where she had to go three sets in getting the win.
“With Ella you can see how much she has grown,” AHS coach Maura Dargush said. “Her mental game is what carried her through that third set against Scotia. Also, her endurance. She has dedicated herself to the sport.”
The Lady Rams have had plenty of time to prepare before matches this season. Wednesday’s match was no different. Amsterdam’s No. 1 singles player Kristie Kaczmareck was on the court after her teammates had finished warming up working on her serve. Kaczmarek earned a 6-0, 6-1 win over Katie Hollodook after dropping her first match of the season last week at Scotia Glenville where the Lady Rams earned a 5-2 win.
“Kristie’s very dedicated,” Dargush said. “You can see it in the way she plays. She’s already thinking about what she needs to do to improve. She lost against Scotia last week and she’s already thinking about what she needs to do to be better.”
Amsterdam got wins from senior Caitlin Gannon, who was a 6-0, 6-1 winner over Adrieana Gebo, and Arizona Santiago, who defeated Lydia Colombo 6-1, 6-2. The AHS No.1 doubles team of Tessa Filiberto and Gabby DiSalvi were also winners, 6-0, 6-2 over Courtney Sweet and Keegan Viele. Amsterdam’s Molly Monge and Praabha Singh picked up the win at No. 2 doubles 6-0, 6-0 over Ashley Kenny and Juliette Murphy.
“This past off-season the girls played a lot of tennis,” Dargush said when asked about her team’s success. “They started at a level higher than the other teams they’re playing. And the practices. Yesterday we practiced and they looked awesome. Just like they did in the off-season.”
Amsterdam is at home on Thursday against Hudson Falls. The Lady Rams will take on Scotia Glenvillle next Friday at AHS in a match that could decide the Foothills Council title.
(Photos by Scott Mulford)
