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Dover girls tennis eliminated in DI semifinal round, ending three straight trips to finals

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Dover girls tennis eliminated in DI semifinal round, ending three straight trips to finals

BEDFORD – The Dover High School girls tennis team won the past two Division I state championships, but even with the recent success, the Green Wave were unsure of how this season would pan out after losing three of their top six players from last year’s title team.

Through relentless hard work and dedication, this season turned out to continue the successful trend as third-seeded Dover found itself playing in its fourth consecutive Division I semifinal.

However, Dover, unlike the previous three seasons, couldn’t pull off a semifinal win, falling to No. 2 Bedford, 5-4. Dover ended its season at 13-3.

“These girls haven’t really had much experience with losing, so this one cuts deep to be honest,” Dover head coach Sue Vitko said.

The match came down to third doubles

With the match tied at 4-4, Dover’s Paige Wilson and Mia Mozzoni lost to Kaylee Raff and Elyse Flynn, 8-6 at No. 3 double, securing the win for Bedford.

“Coming down to last doubles, and losing 8-6 is about as close as it can get,” Vitko said. “I’m happy with the way the girls played with the heat and (the schedule change). I thought they did a really good job of adjusting. I think Bedford made less unforced errors than we did, and that was the difference in the end.”

The match was originally scheduled for Monday, but was delayed a day due to rain.

Seniors experience just fourth loss in career

The Dover seniors experienced just four losses in their career; a loss to Bedford in the championship match as freshmen, and regular-season losses to Derryfield and Exeter this year, and Tuesday’s tournament loss.

“That’s not bad, we’ll take that,” Vitko said. “These seniors, that’s what they’ve experienced. This is obviously a super tough loss for them, because they’ve really haven’t been in this position.”

“I couldn’t ask for anything better, not a lot of people get two championships in high school,” Dover senior Tory Vitko said. “I’m really happy I got to play with these people, and old alumni. I’m really happy we did so well this year and in years past.”

Bedford will advance to its first state championship game since 2021, and will face No. 1 Derryfield, which defeated No. 4 Exeter in the other semifinal. Dover defeated Derryfield in the 2022 and 2023 state title games.

Dover wins three singles, one doubles match

Dover’s Tory Vitko won 8-0 at No.1 singles, Mia Mozzoni won 8-5 at No. 4 singles and Ashlynn Swierk won 8-2 at No. 5 singles. Swierk and Bastille won 9-7 at No. 3 doubles.

Tory Vitko said although they didn’t play Bedford in the regular season and didn’t know what to expect, Dover knew the Bulldogs were a good team.

“We knew it was going to be close, but (Bedford) just came out stronger,” Tory Vitko said. “It could’ve gone either way honestly for any of the games, they were all pretty close. But, they just came out on top, they’re a pretty good team.”

Wilson, a freshman, and seniors Swierk and Bastille all experienced their first varsity playing time this year for Dover.

“This is a heartbreaker, but overall, if you look at the big picture, these seniors have had an unbelievable four years,” coach Vitko said. “To lose three of my top six, and still come back and be this competitive, and to take it to a semi, and keep it this close, I’m really proud.”

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