Vicenza's Catherine Gulihur uses her forehand to slam the ball back over the net in the girls singles final at the DODEA-Europe tennis championships in Wiesbaden, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017. Gulihur took the title with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Wiesbaden's Charlotte Kordonowy. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Vicenza's Catherine Gulihur uses her forehand to slam the ball back over the net in the girls singles final at the DODEA-Europe tennis championships in Wiesbaden, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017. Gulihur took the title with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Wiesbaden's Charlotte Kordonowy. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Wiesbaden's Charlotte Kordonowy watches her shot sail over the net in her 6-2, 6-0 loss to Vicenza's Catherine Gulihur at the DODEA-Europe tennis championships in Wiesbaden, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Marymount's Mathias Mingazzini, left, shakes hands with SHAPE's Noah Banken after defeating him 6-2, 6-1 to defend his boys singles title at the DODEA-Europe tennis championships in Wiesbaden, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Ramstein's Amanda Daly returns a shot as Wiesbaden's Melissa Pritchett defends at the net in the girls doubles title match at the DODEA-Europe tennis championships in Wiesbaden, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017. Daly and teammate Megan Stretch beat Pritchett and Shelby Albers 6-1, 6-2 for the crown. It was Daly's second straight title. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Defending champ Mathias Mingazzini returns a shot from SHAPE's Noah Banken on his way to defending his title with a 6-2, 6-1 win at the DODEA-Europe tennis championships in Wiesbaden, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Noah Banken makes a return in his 6-2, 6-1 loss to Mathias Mingazzini in the boys singles final at the DODEA-Europe tennis championships in Wiesbaden, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Mellisa Pritchett makes a play at the net in the girls doubles final at the DODEA-Europe tennis championships in Wiesbaden, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017. She and teammate Shelby Albers lost to Ramstein's Amanda Daly and Morgan Stretch 6-1, 6-2. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Megan Stretch, right, hugs teammate Amanda Daly after the Ramstein doubles team defeated Wiesbaden's Shelby Albers and Melissa Pritchett 6-2, 6-1 to take the title at the DODEA-Europe tennis championships in Wiesbaden, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
American Overseas School of Rome's Federico Sarti rushes in to return a short shot as teammate William Hsia gets out of his way in the boys doubles final at the DODEA-Europe tennis championships in Wiesbaden, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017. The pair defeated SHAPE's Seth Banken and Gregor Vargas 6-2, 6-2. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
SHAPE's Seth Banken returns an AOSR serve in the boys doubles final at the DODEA-Europe tennis championships in Wiesbaden, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017. Banken and teammate Gregor Vargyas lost the match to Federico Sarti and William Hsia 6-2, 6-2. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
American Overseas School of Rome's Federico Sarti reacts after he and teammate William Hsia defeated SHAPE's Gregor Vargyas and Seth Banken 6-2, 6-2 to take the boys doubles title at the DODEA-Europe tennis championships in Wiesbaden, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
WIESBADEN, Germany — Italian schools Marymount, Vicenza and the American Overseas School of Rome took three of four finals trophies back home south of the Alps on the final day of the 2017 DODEA-Europe tennis championships.
Both singles champs came from Italian schools – Marymount’s Mathias Mingazzini took his second-straight boys’ singles crown with an impressive 6-2, 6-1 triumph over SHAPE’s Noah Banken, and Vicenza’s Catherine Gulihur made quick work of Wiesbaden freshman Charlotte Kordonowy in a 6-2, 6-0 win.
AOSR’s Federico Sarti and William Hsia took the boys’ doubles crown with a 6-2, 6-3 win over SHAPE’s Gregor Vargyas and Seth Banken. They had to overcome a 3-0 deficit in the second set.
Ramstein’s Amanda Daly and Megan Stretch were the only non-Italian winners on Saturday, recording a relatively painless 6-1, 6-2 win over Wiesbaden pair Shelby Albers and Melissa Pritchett.
Mingazzini, a junior, said this win was even more sweet than last year’s.
“I think this one (is better) because I needed a strong mentality because my opponent was so good,” he said. “I think today I just pushed the ball as hard as I could, and I’m satisfied with how I played.”
Mingazzini said he plans to participate in next year’s tournament, and by the looks of his dominant performance Saturday, a third consecutive title is certainly possible.
Gulihur finished an undefeated tournament in dominant style, with a strong service game and net play key to her win.
“Getting that first serve in and then attacking with my forehand, that’s a big weapon of mine,” she said.
The senior, who has been scouted by at least one Division I university, is in her first year of organized school, having previously been homeschooled.
“The transition has actually been fun, but difficult at the same time,” she said. “I had to take some hours away from tennis just for schoolwork and actually having to go to school – that’s pretty new.”
Sarti finished up his European career with a win after falling short in previous seasons. He and Hsia were able to create an unbeatable alchemy on their way to an undefeated tournament run, culminating in Saturday’s impressive win, punctuated by a powerful Sarti smash on the match’s final point.
“We didn’t expect (to win) but we knew we were pretty strong, so we expected to play well in the tournament,” Sarti said.
In the girls’ doubles final, Daly and Stretch were able to overcome the significant height advantage of their Wiesbaden opponents with a steady and consistent ground game and strong on-court chemistry. It’s Daly’s second-consecutive doubles crown.
“Megan is just a fantastic baseline player and a really good volleyer,” she said. The pair were constantly encouraging each other during the match and giving high-fives after successful rallies.
“We’re really good at picking each other up when we’re down,” Daly said.
Twitter: @DKS_Stripes
