Lebanon girls finish as runner-up in NH DIII tennis

CONCORD — The Lebanon High girls tennis team’s impressive 2024 season ended in decisive fashion Wednesday with an 8-1 loss to Littleton in the NHIAA Division III finals at Memorial Field.

The Crusaders, winners of back-to-back titles and three of the last four, swept the six singles matches to begin the competition. Littleton is undefeated the past two seasons and returned its entire lineup from the 2023 campaign, postings 12 shutouts in 17 matches this spring.

Lebanon’s singles players were Adaa Karanwal at No. 1, followed by Hailey Schibuola, Hanna Rich, Marianna Utell, Sophie Longacre and Laura Hines. Utell turned in the best performance, losing 8-6.

The doubles portion of the match was played as a courtesy. Lebanon’s pairing of Longacre and Hines earned the Raiders’ lone point by an 8-6 score and finished the season undefeated.

“Every one of our girls played well today and every one of their girls played a little better,” said sixth-year Lebanon coach Rob Johnstone. “There weren’t any signs that we were frozen in the spotlight.”

Lebanon (15-2), which had to scramble to fill its roster at the beginning of last season, reached the semifinals and finals for the first time in program history. The Raiders began last year’s campaign with only one true tennis player, but the team was built on an array of well-rounded athletes who quickly learned the sport.

“The jump from last year to this year was massive and also the jump from the start of this season to the end of this season,” Johnstone said. “Even our girls who didn’t get in matches had a lot of fun and feel that they got better. The quality and atmosphere of the team bodes well for the future.”

Notes: Lebanon lost at Littleton, 6-3, on May 3 … Lebanon graduates Karanwal, Rich and Longacre … Karanwal plans to enroll at the University of Stirling in Scotland later this year. Longacre will attend Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and Rich is headed to Quinnipiac (Conn.) University… Josh Longacre, father of Sophie, was a senior captain on Johnstone’s first Lebanon soccer team 30 years ago. However, he broke his arm while attempting to dunk a basketball and played only a few games that season.

Tris Wykes can be reached at twykes@vnews.com.