For The Endicott Women's Tennis Program, It's All About The Chemistry

Written by Nic Notarangelo
- ECGulls.com Contributor from Ken Davidoff's Sports Journalism Class
(Davidoff covered Major League Baseball for 25 years for Newsday and the New York Post)

BEVERLY, Mass. – For the Endicott women's tennis program and reigning Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Champions, their dominant performance in the fall of 2022 is one that is hard to top. A team that went 11-3 overall with two losses to NCAA Division I teams, and an undefeated 7-0 record in conference, this team steamrolled their way to their ninth conference championship in program history.

After sweeping both Salve Regina in the CCC semifinals and Nichols in the CCC championship 5-0, respectively, the Gulls punched their ticket to the NCAA tournament this May. 

However, the women's tennis team is the only varsity program that can claim its conference championship in the fall, but not compete in the NCAA Tournament until the spring season. While this can have its positives and negatives for this powerhouse of a team, one thing is for certain; a break will take place. 

Head Coach Anthony D'Angelo, who is in his fifth season with the program, explained the offseason plans for the team prior to their first match of the spring season against New York University on March 11th. 

"We trained nine total weeks, including the playoffs in the fall," said D'Angelo. "That left us with 10 weeks to play with to now get ready for the NCAA tournament."

According to NCAA rules, it is a requirement that teams do not make anything mandatory, which the Gulls take very seriously. D'Angelo discussed the player-to-player relationship, the accountability they are willing to take, and the standard they hold themselves to.

"The captains have conversations with the team around 'Hey, either all of us want to continue going or nothing at all, and that's coming from the players entirely,'" said D'Angelo. "If you put in this type of effort, here's what you can expect."

The members of the team have clearly put in the effort necessary to run through the competition, and have done much more outside of just the 19 weeks they spend together as a team. The motivated characteristics of each individual on the squad prove this entirely, especially when things like lifts are not required.

Of course, a lot can be said about the final scores of the matches that brought this team to the top. Nonetheless, there is one quality that every championship team must possess – camaraderie. 

The chemistry within this group is what ultimately turns these 13 women from a team to a family. Something that the average person may overlook, a team that works together and has great chemistry has the ability to beat a lot of teams, even teams that may be more talented. The Gulls showcase this day in and day out.

"We have team bonding coordinators within the program to help plan and work a little bit with the captains," said D'Angelo. "It's just really important for them to spend a lot of time with each other outside of just hitting tennis balls."

D'Angelo explained how the team tries to do something team bonding related or volunteer with outside organizations at least twice a month, while also considering things like supporting other athletic teams or arts programs on campus as well. In the offseason, this also is not mandatory, but D'Angelo knows his players love being around each other, and spending time organically.

The captains of the Endicott women's tennis team are seniors Olivia Berler (Marstons Mills, Mass.) and Ashley Keaveaney (Exeter, N.H.), and junior Kaitlin Fitzgibbons (Nashua, N.H.). Isabela Miani (Southington, Conn.) is the Gulls' team bonding coordinator, who is in charge of everything the group does off the court, an important piece that this team needs.

"So far, what I have been planning is a spin class that is led by [Olivia], and then yoga and just tapping into mental health," said Miani. "We did a program called B.Mindful that has been great, but we're not doing it this semester, so I'm going to try to incorporate that too."

It's leaders like Miani, for example, who are willing to take matters into their own hands that cause this team to be as successful as they are. 

Miani also mentioned that she is doing her internship at a company called Supportive Living, working with brain injury survivors, and planned to ask her supervisor if the team could help with any group activities the company does for some volunteer work. Miani evidently has a solid plan in place that all 13 members are all in on.

At the end of the day, the Gulls will have an entire season to prepare for the tournament come the end of the semester when they compete in May, with hopes of a national title.

"We'll be prepared with plenty of weeks of practice and still get a chance to play seven matches throughout the semester leading up to the tournament," said D'Angelo. "We will be prepared heading into it, definitely no excuses."

The Gulls have a special team this year, one to definitely pay attention to that can make a deep run into the tournament. Be on the lookout for this squad to make some noise, thanks to the extra lengths they are willing to go, both on and off the court.

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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)