Championship Tuesday belonged to Mendham. With a sectional title on the line, the girls swept all three singles matches and added a doubles rout for good measure, beating River Dell 4-1 to win the North 2, Group 2 sectional championship.
Sofia Cicarone delivered the kind of performance that settles an entire team. At first singles she was flawless — 6-0, 6-0, not a single game dropped — the strongest possible statement to open a championship match, and the kind of win that lets everyone else breathe and play free.
Second singles brought the drama. Maya Gieszczynski dropped her first set 6-3, and the pressure of the day could have swung right there. Instead she answered like a champion, taking the second set 6-4 and then the deciding tiebreak 10-3 to put another Mendham point on the board.
Maya Vinu closed out the singles sweep at third singles, winning 7-6, 6-4 — a first set that went the distance in a tiebreak and a second set she finished with room to spare. Three singles courts, three Mendham wins, and the championship was suddenly within touching distance.
At first doubles, Mia Larry and Logan Hanson matched Cicarone's perfection with a 6-0, 6-0 win of their own. River Dell's lone point came at second doubles, where Lily Hodge and Julie Amin fought to the finish in a tight 6-4, 6-4 match that could have gone either way.
Sectional championships are what entire seasons get remembered by, and Mendham won this one the complete way: a perfect day at first singles, a comeback at second singles, a tiebreak win at third singles, and a flawless doubles court. Four of the five courts, every style of point a title run requires. This trophy was earned, top to bottom.
Stars of the Game: Sofia Cicarone, the Perfectionist, who did not drop a game at first singles. Maya Gieszczynski, the Comeback Kid, who rallied from a set down to win in a deciding tiebreak. Mia Larry and Logan Hanson, the Dynamic Duo, with a 6-0, 6-0 doubles statement. And Maya Vinu, the Closer, who finished the singles sweep.
Game details compiled from published box scores.