Dover girls tennis beats Bishop Guertin; will face Bedford in Division I semifinals
DOVER - Along with three straight appearances in the Division I championship match, and the back-to-back state titles, the Dover High School girls tennis team also has experience.
And just like championships, the experience never goes away, and can play a huge role in future endeavors.
No. 3 Dover, which had a first-round bye, opened its Division I tournament play in grand fashion, defeating No. 6 Bishop Guertin, 8-1 in a quarterfinal matchup on Thursday afternoon at Dover High School.
"I think we beat them with experience," Dover head coach Sue Vitko said. "(BG) is a young team, but they were solid. They had really solid ground strokes and good serves. So, to take five points in singles, that really took the pressure off, and our doubles are super strong."
Dover will face Bedford in semifinals
Dover (13-2) will visit No. 2 Bedford on Monday in a semifinal. The other semifinal features No. 1 Derryfield and No. 4 Exeter.
Dover and Bedford did not face each other in the regular season. Bedford advanced with a 7-2 win over No. 7 Pinkerton.
"It's tough not knowing (about them)," Vitko said of the matchup. "I really don't know what the matchup is going to look like, but I feel confident in my girls. I feel confident in my depth, and I feel really confident in my doubles.
Green Wave win five of six in singles; sweep doubles
Tory Vitko (No. 1, 8-0), Paige Wilson (No. 2, 8-0), Kate Ross (No. 3, 8-3), Mia Mozzoni (No. 4, 8-4) and Sarah Bastille (No. 6, 8-1) all won their respective singles matches for Dover.
Vitko and Ross won 8-0 at No.1, Wilson and Mozzoni won 8-1 at No. 2, and Ashlynn Swierk and Bastille won 8-3 at No. 3.
"I'm really excited for the whole team," Wilson said. "We all pushed really hard. It was really hot, and I couldn't be (prouder) of the girls. I think it was a lot of teamwork and perseverance."
"I think we all really played our best and came through," Ross said.
Vitko said tournament experience sparked a couple of comebacks.
"Everybody stayed calm," Vitko said. "We had two scores flip. (Ross) was down and came back and won, and (Mozzoni) was down and came back and won. I think that truly is experience, and maturity, and that's on our side. I think we'll carry that forward even against Bedford."
"You've got to kick it gear, because (playoff tennis) gets really intense," Ross said. "It's about staying calm, because not much changes. Just try to do your best and stay calm."
More on Bedford; the semifinal foe
Bedford is 14-1 with its only loss being a 7-2 decision against Derryfield. Bedford has won seven straight matches since, while Dover has won six straight.
With not knowing too much about Bedford, aside from what she's heard from coaches, Vitko is going to tell her girls to focus on what they can control.
"Focus on playing their game, one ball at a time and one game at a time," Vitko said. "And just staying really mentally focused through the whole thing. I think that has to be our strategy."
Wilson added she thinks Dover has what it takes to keep pushing through.
"I'm looking at it the same, I take it one match at a time," Wilson said of her tournament approach. "That's what (Coach Vitko) always tells us, one point at a time, so that's the mindset I'm in."
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Dover girls tennis beats Bishop Guertin in Division 1 quarterfinal
