Youth reigns supreme as Wellesley sophomore Kimmy Tai impressively wins individual girls' tennis title
In a dominant display on Monday afternoon at Babson College, fourth-seeded Tai rolled past fifth-seeded Zhang, 6-3, 6-3, to claim the girls' state title.
Tai emerged from a field of 68 entrants from private, public, and prep schools across the state. The event was run by the United States Tennis Association for the second consecutive year.
'Once I had a pretty decent lead, I knew what I should do, what my strategy was,' Tai said. 'I just had to keep grinding it out, keep moving, and then attack the ball when I could.'
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Natick's Grace Zhang was stretched to the limit in her state final loss to Wellesley's Kimmy Tai.
Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff
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In the semifinal round earlier on Monday, Tai defeated top-seeded Maya Muhunthan, a senior from Acton-Boxborough, 6-3, 6-4. Zhang topped No. 14 Sophia Lirio, a freshman from Notre Dame (Hingham), 7-6 (7-2), 6-2.
The final was a rematch from last year's Round of 16, when Zhang eliminated Tai, 6-3, 6-2.
But Tai's year-over-year improvement was evident Monday, especially in her ability to finish points with crisp winners on both her forehand and backhand.
'There's a huge jump from last year to this year in terms of her game,' said Wellesley coach Rob Miller. 'It's much more aggressive, and she's always been mentally tough … a lot of the players she beat were good players, it wasn't like she just cruised to the finals. So I'm just really proud of her.'
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Wellesley's Kimmy Tai was strong on both the forehand and backhand in Monday's singles final.
Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff
Tai is 6-0 at first singles and 13-0 at second singles this season for Wellesley, playing behind fellow sophomore Bella Gopen — last year's individual tournament runner-up, who opted not to compete in this year's event.
Due to her close proximity to Babson, Tai even drove home to refresh herself between the semifinal and championship match, which took place roughly two hours apart. Tai's teammates from Wellesley were also on hand, providing the only teammate cheering section of any competitor on Monday.
'I really enjoyed their support,' Tai said. 'And their songs were so cute, and their cheers every time I hit a good shot — the support really helped.'
For Tai, the three-day run also was validation of her stamina — she had never previously played six matches in three days — and provided further confidence headed into the MIAA state tournament, where Wellesley will look to repeat as Division 1 state champions.
'Even if I'm down or I'm having to play really hard, long points, if I push through I know I can do it,' Tai said.
Sophomore Sienna Solorza (left) and freshman Emily Zhu from Newton South were dominant in winning the girls' doubles final Monday.
Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff
Young Newton South pair takes doubles crown
Though Newton South freshman Emily Zhu and sophomore Sienna Solorza have played second doubles for the Lions this season, they entered the weekend confident they were among the top squads in the 17-pair field.
And though the young duo was pushed by some of the state's top veteran duos, they ultimately passed every test.
In the girls' doubles championship on Monday, Zhu and Solorza surged to a 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, victory over top-seeded seniors Lindsey Grosberg and Nina Gill of Lincoln-Sudbury.
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'I thought we could probably get to the finals,' said Zhu, 'but we got it done here.'
Zhu and Solorza have notched an unbeaten record at second doubles, but needed to work past other teams' top doubles pairings throughout the weekend — namely Boston Latin's Gisele Ngo and Maya Nguyen (6-2, 7-5) in a tough semifinal.
The pivotal stretch in the championship match came late in the opening set, when Zhu and Solorza trailed 5-4 and needed a service break to stay in the set.
The pairing went on to win two games in a row, and then prevailed in a tight tiebreaker to seize control of the match.
'We had to forget about the score,' Solorza said. 'We get a little tense sometimes and [commit] some unforced errors, but we just needed to talk to each other between every point. We're really good at communicating. And I think we worked really well together.'
Matty Wasserman can be reached at
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