Battling elements past sundown, Needham girls’ tennis defeats Newton North in marathon match (2025)

NEEDHAM – Fiona Stickney’s players could hear her advice regardless of where she stood outside the courts. The coach made sure of it.

She encouraged them to do jumping jacks when waiting for their opponent during changeovers. Even those donning jackets and sweatpants felt their share of shivers.

Facing a twisted triple threat of poor weather, insufficient courts, and no lights, Stickney knew a long contest was a possibility.

But this was far more of an ordeal than anticipated.

Needham girls’ tennis (4-2) outlasted Newton North (2-3) en route to a 4-1 victory Wednesday at Newman Elementary School.

Enduring unfavorable conditions for over three hours, the Rockets were resolute in finishing what they started.

No wintry cold, high winds, or pending darkness would stop them.

“I always tell my players, ‘One point at a time’ and ‘You have to adjust to both sides of the court.’ One side might be pushing against you, but (on) the other side, you might have to hit the ball even harder,” Stickney said. “Most of the time, I just say, ‘I don’t care about your strokes, just get the ball in play,’ especially on a day like this.”

Well before sunlight dwindled, Ilana Weinstock enjoyed a 6-1, 6-1 drubbing of junior Roxy Feldman at first singles.

Taylor Williams followed suit on court two with a similarly straightforward 6-1, 6-2 showing against junior Karina Chung.

Those successes shot Needham out in front, 2-0, but were comfortable strictly in the statistical sense.

Like fellow players on this outing, Weinstock and Williams had to keep tosses low and strike the ball earlier off the bounce.

Such adjustments prevented the ball from lingering in the air and being whisked away by the wind.

A third straight-sets effort – this time from Meena Barnes and Leah Eisner at second doubles – clinched the match in favor of the Rockets, outscoring the Tigers 37-11 across all games.

But many miles remained in this marathon.

Stickney’s crew is operating on a four-court strip as its temporary home this season while the construction of an eight-court complex at Needham High School continues.

As a consequence, one match starts late whenever they play host.

“Every home match, I have to make a huge decision on who’s going to be that match to wait to play because it could be a deciding match,” Stickney said. “They’re holding all the weight on their shoulders if it’s a deciding match, so I always have to make sure I’m picking a team that can handle it mentally.”

First doubles accepted the burden on this occasion. While Aliza Kalis duked it out with junior Cindy Qiao at third singles in their second set, the Rocket tandem of freshman Hannah Beaser and junior Liza Yefremova only just got underway.

A sprint had slowed to a trot.

After surrendering four 6-1 opening sets, Newton North leveled up down the stretch, first with Qiao capitalizing on unforced errors to turn things around for a 5-7, 6-3, 10-6 triumph.

That shifted all attention to Beaser and Yefremova in the waning moments of their tight second set.

“Everything worked well in the first set,” Beaser said. “We lost it a little at the beginning of the second set, but just rallying and going forward (helped).”

Their contest with seniors Bea Fernandez-Medina and Finley Crane became so back-and-forth near the end that a tiebreaker would be required. By the time that decider began, the sun had already set.

They played in the last slivers of light – cold and wind still ever-present.

“As it was getting dark, it was definitely a bit of a different ball game,” Yefremova said. “Volleys definitely got a lot harder, so we did two back (at the baseline) because it was hard to hit a ball.”

Racing time as visibility worsened, the two Rockets claimed long rallies when needed most, ending up with a 6-1, 7-6 (4) win to at last cross the finish line.

Stickney was left with little doubt that she had made the right choice in having second doubles precede them.

“They handled it beautifully. They hype each other up, they support each other, and they talk in between points,” Stickney said. “They understand the pressure, and they’re able to handle it.”

More than three hours later, having weathered a storm of gloom, the Rockets got the job done.