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Sports

Rams Girls Tennis Loaded with Talent and Balance

New Canaan looks forward to another champion season.

Coach Gail Overbeck starts her 14th season as head tennis coach with a veteran team that  is coming off a 21-2 season; both losses to Greenwich. New Canaan has been the FCIAC Eastern Division Champions for the last 12 consecutive years.

The 2010 Rams are loaded with proven talent and a balance that Overbeck describes as" a nice mix of experience and depth." A look at the 2010 season: 

THE GRADUATES:

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Four front-line players have graduated. Lauren Ambler (No. 2 singles), Katie DeWaele and Jen Popper (No. 2 doubles team), and Kirsten O'Haver (No. 3 doubles).

SINGLES LINEUP:

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Captain Tina Tehrani who played No. 1 singles s a freshman and will be No. 1 again as a senior. She won the State of Connecticut individual singles title, then battled injuries as a junior, but is back and healthy for her final year. Tehrani is headed for Georgetown in the fall.

Junior Kate Mannelly will play No. 2 singles as she did last year where she had a 20-1 record.

Caitlin Gallagher back at No. 3 singles. Gallagher was also 20-1 last season as a junior. The other half of what Overbeck calls the "GG Girls", Courtney Gallagher, a sophomore and younger sister of Caitlin, was 18-2 at fourth singles.

One of the five first-year players, Jensen Lee, who prefers singles to doubles, would be Overbeck's first sub off the bench. Lee is the younger sister of the boys No. 1, Ben Lee.

DOUBLES OUTLOOK:

The No. 1 doubles team is set: Elissa Baker, a senior and captain, and Kimmy Glerum, a junior, were undefeated (22-0) during the last regular season. They were team MVP's, and they'll be paired up again. 

Overbeck said the second and third doubles teams are up for grabs. Seven players appear to have the best chance to win the four spots.

A senior, Schuyler Higgins, junior, Emily Greene and sophomore, Phoebe Wilks who moves up from junior varsity will compete for doubles spots along with first-year players Sara Greene (Emily's sister), Kate Howard, Kristin Laub and Amanda Merjian.

COACHES' CORNER:

Overbeck says, "If everybody stays healthy we should be right up there again." She likes the blend of youth and experience which should make the Rams strong from top to bottom.

THE SCHEDULE:

The Rams will play a 17-game regular season schedule with the season opener scheduled for Wednesday  April 7 at St. Luke's.

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