It was an up year for girls’ tennis in the Capital District. That was no more evident than in the fact that last year’s singles champion and runner-up Atlee’s Shao-Ching Tu and Rebekah Ferguson did not even make it to the title match this year.

  Because of their dearth of talent, Tu was not among Atlee’s top two singles players this season and therefore did not complete in the tournament while Fergusson was eliminated in the quarterfinals.

  However, it was not that the play of the Raiders’ pair fell off this season but rather that the competition was much tougher.

  Instead of Ferguson-Tu rematch, it was newcomers Yasmin Fotovat of Atlee defeating Lee-Davis’ Julia Vilardell 6-1, 6-0 for the district singles title.

  Not only were the pair newcomers to the district championship but newcomers to Virginia high school tennis.

  Fotovat, who was born in England, transferred to Atlee from Colorado last year. She saw her first high school action in Virginia this season after sitting out last year to recoup from surgery.

  Vilardell came even further to end up at Lee-Davis. The Confederates’ super-sophomore is an exchange student from an hour outside of Barcelona, Spain and is spending this year in the United States.

  As Lee-Davis’ top player, Vilardell proved to be a step above most district competition and advanced to the championship after defeating Ferguson 6-2, 7-5 (7-5) in the quarterfinals then Varina’s Ashley Milo 6-1, 6-1 in the semifinals.
  But it was evident that this was Fotovat’s tournament from the moment she stepped on the court. Undefeated on the season, Fotovat made quick work of her district competition, letting no set get closer than 6-1. She finished with a win-loss margin of 36-2 in tournament singles games.

  For Atlee head coach Duke Price, Fotovat lived up to the expectations he garnered from seeing her practice last year. “She’s a smart player,” he said. “She likes to win. She just knows how to win and she’s got a great feel for the game.”

  As a freshman in Colorado, Fotovat’s high school tennis team competed for a state championship and that experience was evident in her play. Her exceptional skill and instincts made her wins look effortless. “Many hours and years and days of practice,” Price said. “She’s put a lot of time in with tournaments. She’s played a lot of tennis in her young life. It’s paying off.”

  And even though she breezed to the title win, Fotovat praised her competition. “The girl from Lee-Davis (Vilardell) is really good.”

  Lee-Davis head coach Rebecca O’Boyle said it was Vilardell’s presence that brought a sense of cohesiveness to her team this season. After one season of coaching the exceptional youngster, O’Boyle joked that she does not want to see her return to Spain. “I told her I’m going to kidnap her,” the coach joked. “I told her you’re staying with me.”

  O’Boyle praised Vilardell’s play but pointed out that her sophomore exchange student was overmatched facing Fotovat. “Julia’s a great player, but that girl there, (Fotovat) she can put (the ball) wherever she wants, any way she wants.”

  Vilardell was also hampered by the drain of the long hours of competition over a short period of time, giving Fotovat an added advantage. “She’s just strong and I couldn’t run,” Vilardell said.

  The erratic schedule of play due to weather delays seemed to have little effect on Fotovat. Scheduled to begin on Monday, rain did not allow the tournament to get started until Wednesday. Even then only a few matches were played before events were delayed again. With clear skies overhead on Thursday the players grabbed as much court time as they could get to catch up, taking to the courts at 4:30 p.m. and some not leaving until nearly 10:30.

  Between singles and doubles play, Fotovat often played back to back matches and was usually the first on the court rearing to go. “I’ve been playing since I was about three or four years old,” Fotovat said. “There’s been tournaments where there’s been long days but this definitely was one of the longest.”

  Vilardell said the long days began to wear on her. “(Thursday) I played three games so I was sore today,” she said. “I’ve played a lot of tournaments, but not in the same day.”

  Fotovat reached the championship by taking out Lee-Davis’ Kelley Cattoi in straight sets 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinals and Henrico’s Srider 6-1, 6-0 in the semis.

  Fotovat was just as impressive in doubles play. Teamed up with Tu, the pair faced off against fellow Atlee duo Ferguson and Christina Shifflett for the district doubles title. In spirited but relaxed match among friends, Fotovat-Tu held off Ferguson and Shifflett 6-3, 6-1 for the doubles title.

  “We were having more fun than anything because we’re all teammates,” Fotovat said. “We don’t have to be too serious out there.”

  Fotovat and Tu advanced to the semifinals by defeating Lee-Davis’ Olivia Davis and Angelina Sportelli 6-0, 6-1. Altee’s Christina Shifflett and Ferguson also reached the semis with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Lee-Davis’ Vilardell and Cattoi.

  In doubles semifinal action, Fotovat-Tu defeated Henrico’s Palak Shah and Tyra Beaman 6-1, 6-0. Ferguson-Shifflett reached the championship after defeating Hanover’s Kaitlyn Whitaker and Ellie Grove 6-2, 6-1.

For Lee-Davis and Hanover, the tournament got even longer because the two had to play a tie-break match to decide second place in the district. “It’s been hard playing the tournament then play the playoff match next,” O’Boyle said. For the second year in a row, Lee-Davis claimed second place in a tiebreak match win over the Hawks.

Singles
First round: Kelley Cattoi (LD) d. Jasmin Lynch 6-2, 6-3; Srider (Hen.) d. Portia Ford 6-0, 6-1; Palak Shah (Hen.) d. Scharmia Roberson (HS) 6-1, 6-1; Rebekah Ferguson (A) d. Tibbett (Han.) 6-2, 6-3
Quarterfinals: Yasmin Fotovat (A) d. Cattoi (LD) 6-0, 6-0; Srider (Hen.) d. Kaitlyn Whitaker (Han.) 4-6, 6-2 (10-6); Ashley Milo (V) d. Shah (Hen.) 6-3, 6-2; Ferguson (A) d. Julia Vilardell 6-2, 7-5 (7-5)
Semifinals: Fotovat (A) d. Srider (Hen.) 6-1, 6-0; Vilardell (LD) d. Milo (V) 6-1, 6-1

Doubles
First Round: Olivia Davis-Angelina Sportelli (LD) d. Mallory Moore-Kendall Burgess 6-2, 6-4; Palak Shah- Tyra Beaman (Hen.) d. Portia Ford-Calyssa Baig (HS) 7-6, 6-3; Jasmine Chopra-Valerie Westerman (Hen.) d. Scharmia Roberson-Renee Trimiew (HS) 6-4, 7-5; Rebekah Ferguson-Christina Schifflett (A) d. Talia Brown-Deairra Allmond (6-0, 6-0
Quarterfinals: Yasmin Fotovat-Shao-Ching Tu (A) d. Davis-Sportelli (LD) 6-0, 6-1; Shah-Beaman (Hen.) d. Ashley Milo-Jasmin Lynch (V) 7-6, 6-3; Kaitlyn Whitaker-Ellie Grove (Han.) d. Chopra-Westerman (Hen.) 6-0, 6-0; Ferguson-Shifflett (A) d. Julia Vilardell-Kelley Cattoi (LD) 6-1, 6-2
Semifinals: Fotovat-Tu (A) d. Shah-Beaman (Hen.) 6-1, 6-0; Ferguson-Shifflett (A) d. Whitaker-Grove (Han.) 6-2, 6-1