Stowe girls tennis captures fourth straight crown

SHELBURNE - When Julia Biedermann captured her straight-sets victory at No. 1 singles, Stowe was on the verge of securing a championship four-peat.

But on the adjacent court, Charlotte Stevens, Stowe's No. 2 singles player, had no clue of Biedermann's win nor how close her team was to another title.

"Sometimes you don’t even realize what’s going on in the other ones," Stevens said. "I just tried to focus on my match and hope that everyone else was doing well."

Moments later, Stevens took care of business, clinching No. 2 Stowe's 4-2 triumph over top-seeded Champlain Valley at Davis Park for the Raiders' fourth Division I straight crown.

"It feels really great especially because this has been the result for us every single year. This is really special," Stevens said.

[See below for full results and details on the boys tennis championship].

Stowe and CVU met in the final for the second straight season and for the third consecutive time in tournament play. The girls tennis powerhouses also split their regular-season matchups in each of the past two springs.

More:Matchups, game times, how to watch Vermont's spring high school championship games

"CVU has always been our toughest competitor," said Biedermann, this year's individual singles tournament runner-up. "You have to be on your best every time you play them."

And the Raiders did once again.

Stowe's Gabby Doehla and Kate Tilgner, the tandem that seized an unprecedented four straight doubles crowns at the individual tournament last month, won their singles contests at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively.

2023 file:Stowe bests CVU for three-peat in D-I girls tennis

CVU countered with wins at No. 1 doubles (Ariel Toohey and Leonie Schwetlick) and No. 5 singles (Addie Maurer) for a 2-all battle.

But Stowe's top singles players made sure the championship wouldn't be decide with final match at No. 2 doubles.

Biedermann made adjustments to her game with challenging winds and won a opening-set tiebreak for a 7-6 (5), 6-1 win over CVU's Tabitha Bastress. And Stevens defeated Anna Dauerman, the singles state champion, with a 6-3, 6-4 result.

"I stayed in the points as long as I could, which always helps in tennis," Stevens said. "Even if you’re down, you don’t want to quit the point because then you don’t have a chance to win."

Over their four-year reign, the Raiders compiled a 53-3 record. They also own 16 titles all-time (five in D-I, 11 in D-II), which is second to only South Burlington's 17.

FINAL: No. 2 Stowe 4, No. 1 Champlain Valley 2

At Davis Park (Thursday)

Singles: Julia Biedermann, S def. Tabitha Bastress, CV 7-6 (5), 6-1; Charlotte Stevens, S def. Anna Dauerman, CV 6-3, 6-4; Gabby Doehla, S def. Cassie Bastress, CV 6-0, 6-3; Kate Tilgner, S def. Sage Peterson, CV 6-4, 6-1; Addie Maurer, CV def. Lula Paumgarten, S 6-1, 6-1.

Doubles: Ariel Toohey/Leonie Schwetlick, CV def. Lucy Andrus/Sarah Hailey, S 6-3, 6-0. Ella Lisle/Millie Boardman, CV led Harper Freund/Malise Sigler, S 5-3 (did not finish due to rain).

Final team records: Stowe 13-1, CVU 15-2.

Middlebury claims program's first boys tennis title since 1991

After reaching three straight semifinal appearances prior to this season, Middlebury's turn at the top was finally fulfilled on Thursday.

And the Tigers did so on homecourt.

The second-seeded Middlebury boys eked out a 4-3 decision over No. 5 Champlain Valley at Memorial Sports Center for the program's first championship since 1991.

Iver Anderson's victory at No. 4 singles in a tiebreaker clinched the state crown for the Tigers, who had lost in last year's semifinals to spoil a perfect season.

This year's Tigers went 14-1, their most wins since going 15-2 in their last championship run.

FINAL: No. 2 Middlebury 4, No. 5 Champlain Valley 3

At Middlebury (Thursday)

Singles: Jackson Murray, M def. Oscar Andersson, CV 7-5, 6-1; Ziggy Babbott, CV def. Kellan Bartlett, M 6-4, 6-2; Jacob Graham, CV def. Charles Young, M 7-5, 4-3; Iver Anderson, M def. Kyle Kreiger, CV 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (1); Nate Cook Yoder, M def. Nolan Sandage, CV 6-2, 6-3.

Doubles: Eddie Fallis/Milo Rees, M def. Dash Tota/Nik Blasius, CV 6-2, 6-4; Luke Sampson/Henry Frost, CV def. Baxter Harrington/Noah Doherty Konczal, M 7-5, 6-0.

Final team records: Middlebury 14-1, CVU 14-4.

Become a member of the Vermont Varsity Insider Facebook group at https://bit.ly/2MGSfvX.

Contact Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @aabrami5.