Elizabeth Seton sophomore Logan Virgil was still in disbelief as she walked off the court Monday in Chantilly. After securing an 8-4 win at second singles, she knew she had clinched the first WCAC tennis championship in school history, but it took time for the relief to kick in.
“I was like, ‘Oh, my God, it’s over,’ ” Virgil said with a smile. “I’m still kind of a little tense because it doesn’t feel over.”
The previous two years, the Roadrunners fell painfully short at this tournament, taking one-point losses to St. John’s. Seton got over the hump this time, recording 37 points to easily outpace Good Counsel (22) and the Cadets (13).
Seton entered Monday’s final at Paul VI with a competitor in all but one of the singles matches and holding a nine-point advantage over the Falcons. Virgil and junior Lauryn Anderson, each of whom went undefeated this season, picked up three points apiece with victories over opponents from Good Counsel to clinch the team title before the doubles session even began.
Seton Coach Mark Dalzell, who took over in 2018, has watched the program transform from one “comfortable” with third-to-last in the WCAC to a perennial contender. All that was left was claiming the trophy, which the Roadrunners cheered and danced with Monday.
Junior Camille Hall was one of several players on Seton’s roster who felt the sting of falling just short in 2021 and 2022. She said the players’ goal at the start of this season wasn’t to avenge those narrow losses but to focus on “what they could control” during each regular season match.
“Just really working together as a team, trusting each other was very important,” Hall said. “The outcome paid off.”
Hall didn’t take home the No. 1 singles title — that distinction went to Bishop O’Connell senior Brunelle Tchuedem, a Coastal Carolina commit. But Hall, who anchored the Roadrunners all season as their captain and top player, got the last word alongside Virgil in the first doubles final against St. John’s.
With the team title secure, Hall and Virgil could play their final match of the season with less pressure. Hall ended the tournament in spectacular fashion by crushing a winner up the middle, eliciting a roar from her teammates.
“We’ve been wanting this for forever,” Seton senior Laura Zaborowski said. “We worked so hard for it.”