By Noah Poser

Rival coaches and players arrived at Riis Park with the sense that Young might repeat as city champions. But by day’s end, few anticipated just how dominant the Dolphins would be.

Young cruised to the 2025 CPL Girls Varsity Tennis Championship on Thursday, Oct. 9, clinching the title in runaway fashion.

Head coach Carl Abram said the performance was both expected and surprising.

“There’s always the element of surprise,” Abram said. “I think the girls rose to the occasion knowing they had to lay everything on the line to be truly successful and to create that gap so it wasn’t so tight coming down to the end.

“But was it unexpected to pull away that much? Yes. But also at the same time, no.”

The day quickly became a race for second place. Young had all but secured the title before the championship matches began, with Dolphins players reaching the final in four of five individual brackets.

The final scores emphasized their dominance. Young finished with 23 points, followed by Payton with 17. Lane claimed third with 16 points, edging out Lincoln Park on a tiebreaker after both teams finished with the same total.

More on that later.

The first individual winner of the day was Young senior Leena Manadan, who captured the No. 1 singles title. It was a moment of redemption after falling to Lane’s Maya Kasza in the final each of the past two years.

“It’s been annoying, to be honest,” Manadan said. “The last two years, I got to the final and then I lost. So it’s nice to end my high school career with a win here in my senior year. I was impressed with myself today, especially in the final, because I like to try and finish my matches as quickly as possible.”

And that’s exactly what she did.

After being bageled in last year’s final, she flipped the script Thursday, defeating Payton’s Saya Tanabe in an efficient 6-2, 6-0 victory. She dropped just five games throughout the tournament.

While it was a satisfying way to cap her CPL career, Manadan said she still has unfinished business.

“I want to qualify for state,” Manadan said. “That’s my next goal, and then we’ll go from there. First comes sectionals, and I’m really excited. I’m not sure what the draws are yet or which schools are in it, but I’m hopeful about qualifying and I think it’ll be a good experience.”

Manadan may have been the first winner of the day, but her teammates Harper Wright and Imade Osaghae weren’t far behind. The duo defended their title in No. 1 doubles from a year ago, defeating Lane’s Athena Solberg and Gia Shah 6-0, 6-2.

Despite the lopsided scoreline, they praised their opponents’ no-quit attitude and the overall spirit of the tournament.

“We had great opponents, really in all three matches,” Wright said. “Nothing came easy, of course, and I think we had good matches, despite the scores. And like the director said, there was really good sportsmanship today. We didn’t have any discrepancies, any arguments, or anything like that. There were really positive vibes all around, which was nice to see.”

While not every winner got to celebrate a team title, several still experienced the thrill of individual glory.

Among them was Lincoln Park senior Niev Gilden, who won the No. 2 doubles title in a rematch of last year’s final against Young sophomore Morgan Monagan. Just like last year, it came down to a third set, as Gilden came from a set down to win 4-6, 7-5, 6-1.

Despite dropping the first set and missing an initial chance to serve out the second, Gilden held her nerve and pulled through.

“She’s such a talented player,” Gilden said. “Every time we play, I expect it to be a close match. But it feels good to get the win. I’m just proud of myself that even after losing the first set I could come back. I definitely got tight, especially towards the end of the second set, but I just told myself that I have to keep moving.”

She also had high praise for Monagan.

“Year after year, her experience level is going to get higher and she’s going to keep getting better,” Gilden said. “Wherever she ends up and whoever she plays in the future, she’ll be just fine because she’s an amazing player.”

The final winners of the day were Lane’s Brooke Bornstein and Priya Reddy, who won in straight sets over Lincoln Park’s Zenny Hoybia and Marin Crain to capture the No. 3 doubles title, and Payton’s Eloise Khoury and Lara Burca, who took the crown in No. 2 doubles.

Ultimately, the No. 2 doubles final proved to be the most crucial match of the entire event. Khoury and Burca’s 6-4, 4-6, [13-11] victory – after saving match points in the super-tiebreak against Young’s Lea Kostic and Aderin Oshuntuyi –  lifted Payton from fourth place to second.

The fallout from that final match was dramatic. Had Young won, Payton would have finished fourth, leaving Lane and Lincoln Park tied for second and guaranteeing both schools a spot on the podium. Instead, Payton finished one point ahead of both, leaving Lincoln Park off the podium entirely.

With Lane and Lincoln Park each earning one individual title, the second tiebreaker, head-to-head record, went in Lane’s favor.

But in the end, the spoils truly go to the victor. And after experiencing the highs that come with it in each of the past two years, Abram and the Dolphins are hungry for more.

“Well, it’s hard to do two,” Abram said. “It’s even harder to do three, but we’re going to try our best to do it.”

Photos by Jim Vincent/OSA