By: Kayla Rosen

The Rye Country Day School Girls’ Varsity Tennis team put together an outstanding season, combining determination, strong team chemistry, and steady improvement throughout the spring.

Over spring break, the team traveled to Hilton Head Island, where they trained with professional coaches and strengthened both their skills and their bond as a team. The lessons they learned there helped lay the foundation for the success that followed.

After losing their first three matches, the Wildcats found their rhythm with a pivotal 4-3 victory over Holy Child. Following their first win, the team began playing what head coach Jenny Smith called “Wildcat Tennis.”

Rye Country Day finished the regular season with a 6-6 record and tied for fourth place in the FAA standings. Along the way, the Wildcats earned impressive wins over Sacred Heart Greenwich, Greenwich Country Day, St. Luke’s, Frederick Gunn, and Millbrook. 

In the FAA tournament, the team delivered a strong overall performance, winning six matches and advancing deep into several brackets. Abby Smith ‘28, the team’s No. 3 singles player, battled mentally and physically throughout the afternoon and advanced to the finals before falling 6-3, 6-2. The No. 3 doubles team of Eda Buyuk ‘27 and Kaitlyn Wong ‘27 also made an impressive run, narrowly losing a two-hour match in a third-set tiebreak. This was the farthest RCDS has advanced in the tournament in six years. 

Coach Smith believes the team’s greatest strength was the way the players supported one another. “The team aspect of tennis is special,” she said. “It never matters what position one plays–they all count toward the final score. This Wildcat team especially relied on each other to win. What a group of supportive teammates.”

Captain Nina Bortner-Hirszman ‘26 shared a similar perspective. “The season went really well, and the team had great chemistry,” she reflected. “The team is a group of very lively, hardworking, talented girls, and my personal favorite part of being on the team is seeing how excited everyone is to be there and how tennis is the best part of the day for the majority of the players.”

With a season defined by perseverance, teamwork, and one of the program’s best tournament performances, the Girls’ Varsity Tennis team has plenty to celebrate. Their success this spring showed that behind every swing was a team pushing one another to improve.