By HockomockSports.com Staff
2025 Hockomock League Girls Tennis Preview
Franklin rolled to its first-ever league title in girls tennis last spring. The Panthers have the majority of their lineup back in search of another Kelley-Rex title but have some new competition this spring.
With the new league alignment, which is based on enrollment, Sharon is now in the Kelley-Rex division. The Eagles have won three straight Davenport titles and eight of the last nine.
This has the making of one of the best Kelley-Rex division title races for girls tennis we’ve seen in some time. Junior Gabby Cura showed great potential at first singles last year with an 8-3 record and is back at the top of the ladder for the Panthers this season. Senior captain Izzy Trull is back healthy after dealing with an injury for most of last season and junior Isabelle Simino, who went 7-2 last year, completes the singles lineup. It’s a talented trio that will give Franklin an edge on the majority of the competition.
“I have high hopes for this year after winning the first-ever Hock Championship in Franklin history last season and the goal is to repeat,” said Franklin head coach Bob Pingeton. “We know it’s going to be tougher with Sharon now in the Kelley-Rex but we have an experienced group of confident players led by a solid senior core. I’m extremely impressed with the talent coming in on the freshman side.”
Senior captains Brooke Daniels and Sydney Tolonen are two-time Hockomock all stars and are one of the best doubles teams in the region. Over the last two seasons, Daniels and Tolonen have posted an impressive 29-4 record and have helped clinch a lot of team wins for the Panthers. Junior Avalon Thomes went 9-4 last season and is a candidate for second doubles. Freshman Anna Powers has had a strong preseason and earned the nod alongside Thomes at second doubles but the Panthers have a deep team including seniors Katie Yelle and Ashmita Boopathy as well as freshmen Julianne Love, Poojan Gaur, Genevieve Camire who will all compete for a spot in the lineup.
Sharon will be tough to beat once again this year. On top of a strong core of returning players, the Eagles have an influx of new talent. Senior Alina Hou posted an impressive 16-1 record while playing at second and third singles last year and will make the move into the top spot on the ladder this spring. Freshman Kat Budovalcev has impressed early on in the season and will compete at second singles while junior Lila Hogan completes the singles lineup at third singles. The Eagles have a strong group of veterans in doubles with Sydney Weiner, Olivia Landstein, Heather Hou, and Grace Zhong all back this spring after playing plenty of varsity matches last year. Raina Rakhra, Riya Sreeram, Reva Sankhla, Kerong Liang, Lillia Precourt, Anushka Kaitkay, Abigail Lonergan, and Nellie Alperovich all provide the Eagles with good depth options while newcomers sophomore Ella Chen and freshmen Anya Shukla, Riley Garte, Hanae Houlihan and Katie Eisenstadt will look to make an instant impact.
While the two defending division champs are the two favorites for the Kelley-Rex, there are some other teams eager to make their mark. King Philip has a blend of returners and newcomers in its lineup this spring. While the Warriors incorporate some of the new faces, they’ll lean heavily on their four returning starters from last year.
Senior Jaelyn Dang is coming off a very strong season at second singles and will be moving into the top spot on the ladder for the Warriors this spring. Senior co-captain Addison Lewis will make the switch from doubles to singles this year and look to challenge Dang for the first singles spot in the lineup. Senior co-captain Alex Pauline and senior Avery Reda are in the mix for the third singles spot and the Warriors will have a strong leader in doubles as the other will likely anchor first doubles. Senior Veda Gogineni and sophomores Rose Loughlin, Courtney Lewis, and Natalie Collins will also be in the mix for that third singles spot and time in doubles action.
Juniors Taylor Gabriella and Rivya Shrivastava, senior Sniggy Epuri, and sophomore Alexandra Hickey give KP some needed depth and will look to push for time in the lineup.
“The Kelley-Rex is always a tough division, and King Philip is looking forward to seeing what our team can do this season with returning players anxious to step it up in their new spots and a group of sophomores who are starting to show some real potential,” said KP coaches Bob Goldberg and Kristen Schneider.
Both Attleboro and Taunton are dealing with a good amount of turnover from last season. The Bombardiers are only bringing back one varsity regular from last year’s team. But that has brought a lot of excitement to the program with plenty of opportunities for new players to step up. Senior captain Katie Lortos was an honorable mention all star last year and has competed as a doubles player for the past two years and will be a key leader in the lineup again. She will be joined in doubles action by classmate and fellow captain Lily Choquette, who has shown improvement each season. Senior Addie Shelton made an immediate impact when she joined the program last year and will be a top player for the Bombardiers this season, starting the year in the first singles spot.
“This is a powerful roster of players who are hungry to succeed and show the Hockomock League that Attleboro is able to compete at the highest levels,” said Attleboro head coach Bill Reilly. “We’re looking forward to an incredibly strong season and a bright future. Personally, I’m looking forward to seeing who is going to step up and claim the top singles and doubles spots, because we have many excellent players and, so far, it seems like they’re all driven to achieve. That will only help to push each other even more as the season goes on.”
Juniors Alexa Frackelton and Alex Houle have both worked extremely hard over the past two seasons to crack the lineup and will have the chance to compete for Attleboro this season in singles action.
Taunton is in a similar position after graduating eight seniors. The Tigers have just one starter back in the mix in sophomore Ava Olivadesa, who split time between singles and doubles action last year as a freshman. Olivadesa finished the year with a 13-6 overall record and has been impressive so far this year, earning the start at first singles. Senior Chrisha Charles-Marc, who played in a handful of matches last year for the Tigers, and classmate Natalie Duncan will be key leaders this spring and will both compete for a spot in the lineup. Juniors Meaghan Cunningham, Mia Mendes, and Alexa Rinehart are all in the mix for both singles and doubles roles for the Tigers, sophomores Nora McDonough and Isabella Castro are competing well in the preseason and could crack the doubles lineup, and eighth grader Molly Abbott has played well in some early season challenge matchups and broke into the lineup in Taunton’s league opener against Foxboro.
“This is a big rebuilding year for us,” said Taunton head coach Alisha Silva. “Losing so many seniors leaves a lot of opportunity for players to step up into the lineup this year. We are a younger team, but they all work hard and want to be out there playing tennis. Our captain, Chrisha Charles-Marc is a great leader and will help guide our younger players this season as it’s many of their first times playing at the varsity level. Ava Olivadesa has worked hard in the offseason and I’m excited to see her playing at a high level this season.”
Over in Milford, there are a lot of familiar faces back. In fact, the entire starting lineup returns as the Hawks look to have an improved season. There’s a lot of experience in the lineup too with many seniors including captains Mallory Brickley and Ava Merrill, who will be battling for the first singles spot, and captain Audrey Brannigan, who will slot into third singles. All three have plenty of varsity experience in singles action and that should help the Hawks compete this year.
Juniors Chloe Murdock and Sam DeNegris return to handle first doubles duties for the second straight spring while seniors Lillian Bogonis and Riley Donovan along with sophomore Catie Delaney are competing for time at second doubles.
With Sharon’s departure from the Davenport, there is an opportunity for a new division champion. Since the league split, only Sharon and Foxboro have won the division title.
Foxboro and first-year head coach Beverly Souaiden will have to incorporate some new faces into the lineup this year after graduating nine players from last year’s squad. There’s plenty of interest in the program with nearly 30 players trying out for the squad. With six total returners from last year, Foxboro will look for its veteran players to lead the way.
The top of the lineup with feature some familiar faces. Senior Analise Jia, who was a league honorable mention selection as a sophomore, is back at the top of the ladder at first singles while sophomore Siya Maknecha returns to compete at second singles. Junior Arianna Urman was a staple in doubles action last season but, after a strong offseason which resulted in an improved serve, will have the court to herself this spring as she moves to singles action. Senior Audrey Paolino is back at first doubles and will team up with junior Veronica Souaiden, who picked up some key experience at second doubles last year. There’s been some good competition for time at second doubles including from returning junior Samantha McAuliffe.
“All my girls have passion and grit, and I am confident in their ability to learn and grow as players, despite their scores on the court,” Souaiden said. “We are all looking forward to a fun and exciting season!”
North Attleboro is coming off a second place finish in the Kelley-Rex division and is off to a strong start this year. The Rocketeers, who have six K-R division titles, will be a top contender for their first Davenport crown this spring. Senior Megan Atwood is a two-time Hockomock all star and will be in the mix for top singles players in the league this year. Seniors Audrey Noreck and Elizabeth Silva give the Rocketeers an experienced singles lineup in search of a Davenport crown. In doubles action, seniors Grace Manning and Jayla Stone have a lot of varsity experience to bring to the table while seniors Kaeleigh Folan, Elizabeth Fong, and Anshi Agrawal are all in the mix for time at second doubles.
“We’re optimistic for a successful season,” said first-year North Attleboro head coach Armindo Rocha. “Our strong core of returning players, including Meagan, Audrey, and Elizabeth, will be key to our singles lineup, while our doubles teams have shown great teamwork and chemistry. We’re looking forward to seeing how our younger players develop and push for spots in the lineup as the season progresses.”
One of the other top singles players in the league is the reigning Hockomock League MVP and three-time all star Hannah Farber. This will be Farber’s fourth year as the first singles player for Oliver Ames, who is another strong candidate for the Davenport crown – which would be the program’s first-ever title. Farber has improved each season and went 16-0 last year against the best competition in the league. Senior Stella Zachos is another four-year player for the Tigers who will compete in singles action after winning eight matches last year. Sophomore Kathryn Weiler is another returner for the Tigers that played at third singles last year but will be in the mix for second singles this spring.
Seniors Emily Beaulieu, Abby Borden, and Ava Barth all have a good amount of doubles experience so that could be a big strength for the Tigers this season. Junior Ali Querzoli and sophomore Ada Visnauskis also competed in doubles for OA last year so there’s plenty of internal competition in the team that will bring out the best. Sophomore Hannah Le along with newcomers sophomore Mia Zachos and freshman Ellie Spillane have shown some promise early on in the season and could crack the lineup throughout the year.
“We are very excited about this coming tennis season,” said OA co-coaches Melissa Spillane and Danielle Erickson. “This is our 13th year as co-coaches, and we couldn’t be more proud of the girls on our team.”
Over in Canton, the Bulldogs will have a strong mix of returners and newcomers in the lineup this year. Senior Camila Cutter, a two-time league all star (2022, 2023), is coming off a very impressive season at second singles and will move back up the ladder to play at first singles. Junior Charlotte Powers will also move up to compete at second singles this season while classmate Victoria Vinh will slot in at third singles. The team of senior Jess Hooton and junior Katherine Powers won more points for the Bulldogs than anyone else last year while competing at second doubles, going 10-4 on the year, and this season will take a step up to play at first doubles against some of the top teams in the league. Seniors Lana Nguyen and Lydia Sithivong will slide in at second doubles.
“This season our team has a great mix of experienced players and talented newcomers,” said Canton head coach Myra Durham. “Our players have already been very focused and driven to improve every aspect of their game. Overall, it’s shaping up to be an exciting season, and I’m looking forward to seeing how the team steps up to the challenge.”
Neighboring Stoughton is in a similar position as Canton as a lot of players will take the next step on the ladder this spring. Junior Jacqueline Boutros played well at second singles for the Knights a year ago and is coming off a strong offseason. She will now move into the first singles spot, and senior captain Dhruvi Patel, who is a very consistent player, will move from third singles to second singles. Senior Jina Kim has experience in singles action and will look to use that this spring when she slides up from doubles to third singles. Senior captain Charlotte Garcia-Ziegler and junior Olivia Henderson return as Stoughton’s first doubles team after a successful campaign in 2024 that resulted in seven wins while going against some of the top teams in the league. Senior Emma Byrne and junior Makaila Graffeo have shown significant improvement since last season and will start the season as the Knights’ second doubles tandem.
“With a mix of seasoned veterans and eight promising newcomers, the team is focused on surpassing last season’s accomplishments,” said Stoughton head coach Patty Bangs.
