All-Area Girls' Tennis 2011

*******

All-Area Girls' Tennis Player of the Year: Stonington's Emilie Burgess

What They're Saying About Emilie:

"She's a competitor. She would try to kick it in and would kick it into another gear when challenged. She's very confident. She's one of the best captains I've ever had. That's the great thing about her, she'd do anything for the team. She's been a pleasure to coach."

 - George Crouse, Stonington coach

"I've known her since she was 11 or 12 years old as she played against all the girls I coached at the (Old Saybrook) Racquet Club. She's a very focused player. She's obviously got a beautiful game and I think she's very excited about the possibility of playing in college in my conversations with her. She's spent a lot of time working on her game all year long."

 - Ruthanne Rothman, Old Saybrook coach

What You Need To Know About Emilie:

The Stonington girls' tennis program has had its share of great players and Emilie Burgess earned her place among them this spring. She was undefeated in Eastern Connecticut Conference play and defeated sister Annika, 7-6 (3), 6-3, to win the tournament championship. Emilie Burgess also helped the Bears to their fifth straight CIAC Class S final and advanced to the round of 16 at the State Open, earning all-state honors. "I had a great time this year," Burgess said. "I had a lot of goals for myself. Ever since my freshman year I wanted to win the ECC and earn all-state as an individual. So this year I was really buckling down. I really wanted it. And I got them both." Burgess is a high honor student and a National Honor Society member. She will attend the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

— Ned Griffen

*******

All-Area Girls' Tennis Coach of the Year: Old Saybrook's Ruthanne Rothman

What They're Saying About Ruthanne:

"She definitely loved us all. She was crying when (the season) was over. She was just enthusiastic about tennis. I always looked forward to going to practice."

 - Christie DeAntonis, Old Saybrook sophomore

What You Need To Know About Ruthanne:

Old Saybrook came tantalizingly close to being co-Shoreline Conference champions last season but fell short to Westbrook. This season, after losing the first meeting to the White Knights, Old Saybrook won the second match 4-3, earning a share of the league title for the first time and going on to reach the semifinals of the Class S state tournament, well. "It was just an awesome year," Rothman said. "We were so close last year to being co-champions, but the match that was the turning point was tied 3-3 and came down to No. 3 doubles. ... The first match against Westbrook (this spring) was tied 3-3 and came down to No. 3 three doubles and we lost it. ... The same thing happened in the second match. The third set went to a tiebreaker and was just as tight as it could possibly be and (Mackenzie Cook and Daniela Palomeque) ended up winning 8-6." Rothman was in her third year as head coach, her first on her own after sharing coaching duties with Karen Barmmer, who moved to Florida. She has coached junior teams at the Old Saybrook Racquet Club for nine years. She is married to Jay Rothman and has four children — Alissa (17), Jack (14), Rosie (12) and Jason (10).

— Ned Griffen

*******

Athlete Profiles

• St. Bernard senior Hannah Benoit was an Eastern Connecticut Conference tournament semifinalist and qualified for the State Open for the third straight year. She was the team MVP and a two-year captain. She was all-state in both tennis and soccer her senior year. She was an honor roll student all four years and a member of the National Honor Society the last two years. She will attend St. Michael's College.

• Stonington sophomore Annika Burgess was unbeaten during the ECC regular season and was runner-up in the conference tournament. She also helped the Bears advance to the CIAC Class S final and qualified for the State Open. Burgess is a high honor student.

• Bacon Academy senior Catherine Clark went 15-1 during the regular season, reached the ECC quarterfinals and was one of three local players to reach the second round of the State Open. She was a three-time ECC Medium Division all-star and received senior awards and scholarships for journalism, AP Spanish and Vietnam Veterans. She will play tennis at Division I Manhattan College and study communications.

• East Lyme sophomore Joan Li advanced to the ECC semifinals this season and the second round of the State Open. She has been a high honor student since middle school and won the Most Outstanding English Student the last two years.

• East Lyme seniors Nicole Stevens and Amy Whitehouse successfully defended their ECC doubles championship, defeating Windham's Haley Mather and Ali Risley in the final for the second straight year. They didn't lose a league match the last two years and didn't drop a set this spring. Stevens is an honor roll student and will attend the College of Charleston. Whitehouse was an indoor track captain and an all-state pick. She played soccer, was a National Honor Society member and an Honor Roll student and student government member all four years. She will attend Gettysburg College.

• Old Saybrook seniors Abbi Dunlap and Tenzin Lama were the Shoreline Conference doubles champions. They helped their team to a share of the league championship and a Class S semifinal berth. Dunlap was a captain on the soccer team and a scholar-athlete winner. She was a Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizen Award winner, an Old Saybrook High School Student of the Month winner and won the Connecticut Association of Superintendents Award. She'll attend Arizona State and study biology and secondary education. Lama is a member of the National Honor Society and the International Thespian Society. She won outstanding achievement awards in Spanish 1, 2 and 4, algebra 1 and chemistry and was a scholar-athlete winner. She'll attend Syracuse.

• Sophomore Christie DeAntonis and senior Beth Morrison were the second doubles team for Old Saybrook and 11-1 during the regular season. They were second team All-Shoreline and qualified for the State Open. Morrison was first team All-Shoreline in soccer and also played basketball. She is an officer for the Best Buddies program and was a student council member. She will attend Eastern Connecticut State. DeAntonis is a scholar-athlete, an honor roll student and will be a team captain next spring.