It was a “weird” but successful afternoon of tennis for York’s Teresa Alvarez on Friday.
Alvarez began her day by defeating her teammate, Gabi Tersigni, in the 3A Colonial Conference 25 singles final to win the first individual title of her career.
After a short break, Alvarez then teamed up with Tersigni to capture the conference doubles crown.
Alvarez, who admits to being nervous before every match, won the first set of the singles final 7-5 over Tersigni. She settled down and took the first set 6-2.
“It’s always weird to play your teammate, especially in a match like this, and me and Gabi are good friends,” Alvarez said after exiting the courts at Warhill High. “We always have close matches. I was happy to win, but I was more happy to play with [Gabi] in doubles.”
Alvarez and Tersigni’s doubles match against Lafayette’s Libby Bland and Hannah Trueblood began similarly to their singles match and ended with an identical score.
As usual, Tersigni helped calm Alvarez’s nerves as the two edged out a 7-5 win in the first set. The duo seized control immediately in the second set before winning 6-2 to finish the season 3-0 against the Rams’ No. 1 doubles tandem.
“We were a little shaky in the first set,” Tersigni said. “We weren’t playing that well, so we came together and just said, ‘We got this.'”
Tersigni assured there were no hard feelings after the singles match.
“It was tough to play her in a match like that, but I was optimistic because either way it was going to be a win-win for York,” she said.
Tersigni, a junior, was just as happy as Tersigni to claim her first individual title, but said Friday’s victory was only one step forward in what they hope to be a long journey through the postseason.
“This is really exciting, but it’s just the first step. We want to be successful at regionals, advance to states and then see what happens,” Tersigni said.
In the boys bracket, York’s Ethan Buck lost in the singles final to top-seeded Jonathan Hartson of Colonial Heights. He and his younger brother, Walter Buck, then lost in the doubles final to Colonial Height’s Hartson and Yaser Qazi 6-4, 6-2.
All of Friday’s finalists are guaranteed a berth into the 3A East Region individual tournament in two weeks as the championship matches only determined higher seeding.
