The Paul VI Panthers stampeded through both the 2003 WCAC Tennis Tournament and the WCAC regular season. PVI finished the 2003 campaign with a conference record of 12-0 and an overall record of 13-1, with only a narrow loss to Potomac School.

The Panthers, coached by Craig Tutt, blistered the opposition at the recent WCAC Tennis Tournament. The season-ending tourney was played Oct. 22-24 at the College Park Tennis Center.

The order of finish/team scores were: 1) Paul VI - 45 points, 2) Holy Cross - 27, 3) Ireton - nine, 4) St. John’s and McNamara tied with five, 6)O'Connell and St. Mary's Ryken - tied with four, 8) Good Counsel and Seton - tied with zero.

"It was very cold on the final day, but the girls warmed up and played very well," said Tutt.

PVI junior Maria Sotirchos (singles #1) defeated McNamara, St. John’s and St. Mary's Ryken's junior Natalie Fugate (10-0) enroute to winning the WCAC Title. She also finished the entire season with an overall record of 14-2.

"I went out and played my best in each match during the regular season. In the WCAC finals, my serve was good. I stayed calm and I did what it took to win it," said Sotirchos.

Panther junior Marie Zapolski (singles #2)defeated Good Counsel and McNamara in the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively, before dropping a tough 10-8 decision to Holy Cross sophomore Angela Fuccillo in the finals. Zapolski finished the season with an overall record of 13-3.

"During the regular season, the mental part of the game is the reason why I did as well as I did. In the WCAC finals, Fuccillo had a few more overall ground strokes than I had," said Zapolski (a member of the Panther’s spring 2003 WCAC Championship lacrosse team as well).

"Black and Gold" sophomore Anita Sagar (singles #3) defeated McNamara and O'Connell in the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively, before dropping a 10-3 decision to Holy Cross sophomore Courtney Radcliff in the finals. Sagar finished the entire season with an overall record of 14-3.

"Coach Tutt helped me improve a whole lot during the regular season by helping me with my volleys and ground strokes. In the WCAC finals, the wind really played havoc with my serves. Radcliff played extremely well - especially hitting the angle shots," said Sagar.

PVI junior Michelle Dimitroff (singles #4) defeated St. Mary's Ryken, Ireton and Holy Cross's sophomore Lindsay Monroe (10-4) enroute to winning the WCAC Title. She also finished the entire season with an overall record of 13-1.

"Being relaxed mentally during the entire regular season was the reason I did so well. I was consistent with my ground strokes in the win versus Monroe at the WCAC Tournament," said Dimitroff.

Panther senior Elana Lagos (singles #5) - defeated St. Mary's Ryken, Ireton and McNamara's sophomore Laura Weiss (10-4) enroute to winning the WCAC Title. She also finished the entire season with an overall record of 15-2. Lagos concluded her career with an impressive mark of 65-4.

"I played quite well and very consistently all season. My net play against Weiss was key in winning the WCAC Title" said Lagos.

"Black and Gold" senior Cathy Trenary (singles #6) defeated St. John’s, Holy Cross and Ireton's Mia Breheny (10-3) enroute to winning the WCAC title. She also finished the entire season with an overall record of 14-0. When factoring in both her junior and senior seasons Trenary concluded her final two seasons with a staggering 35-0 mark.

"The team and coach Tutt supported me during the regular season. During the win versus Breheny, both my serve and my backhand were on," said Trenary.

"The girls really came together and played well. There is good camaraderie on this team," said Tutt.

In addition to winning four of six singles titles, the Panthers won two of three doubles titles.

Sotirchos and Zapolski teamed up and captured the Doubles #1 title. Dimitroff and Trenary teamed up and finished as the runnersups in Doubles #2. Sagar and senior Suzie Sullivan teamed up to capture the Doubles #3 title.

"We minimized our mistakes. We wanted to keep the winning streak alive. Anita played the baseline real well and I played the net real well," said Sullivan.

Ireton Finishes Third

The third-place Ireton Cardinals were spearheaded by Mia Breheny. The sophomore played singles #6 and advanced all the way to the finals.

Breheny, also a lacrosse standout, defeated Seton and O'Connell in the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively, before dropping a 10-3 decision to PVI's Cathy Trenary in the finals.

The sophomore finished the entire season with an overall record of 12-3.

"My volleys were good all season long. My volleys and my patience paid big dividends at the WCAC Tournament. I was really quite surprised that I advanced as far as I did," said Breheny.

Ireton, coached by Mike Hutton, finished the regular season with an overall team record of 9-3 WCAC, 9-6 overall.

Seniors Hillary Breheny and Lindsey Mackie, as well as underclassmen Mia Breheny, Blair Blincoe, Irene Rojas and Abigail Wallis stepped up for the Cardinals.

"We bonded real well as teammates. We were friends on and off the court," said Mia Breheny.

"We had a number of new girls play varsity this season for the first time. I was impressed with how well the new girls filled the void left by graduation. At the WCAC Tournament, things pretty much fell in place in accordance with how things went during the regular season in terms of wins and losses," said coach Hutton.