Vandebilt eyeballing fourth-straight state title

There’s sort of an understood rule that has emerged in high school tennis around the area – you just don’t beat Vandebilt Catholic.

That rule was on full display again this week at the Class 4A Region III Regional Tennis Tournament as the Terriers and Lady Terriers both overcame stiff competition to walk away with the overall team titles.

“I was talking to a coach and he had overheard a conversation today between two kids who were talking,” Vandebilt coach Kevin Ramirez said. “And the first kid said, ‘Hey, did you win?’ And the second kid looked at him and said, ‘No, I played Vandebilt.’ It’s just kind of understood that when the kids play Vandebilt, things aren’t going too well. We’re blessed to have that reputation around the area.”

The reason for Vandebilt’s esteem among opposing coaches and players is because of their trophy case, one that they hope grows today when the team heads to the finals of the state tournament in New Orleans.

Both the Terriers and Lady Terriers are three-time defending state champions. And to top that off, several of those players with individual state titles are returning, which means Ramirez has a wealth of riches at his disposal this season.

In the Regional tournament, three of the four finals matches pitted two Vandebilt Catholic players against one another and all four titles were won by either Terriers or Lady Terriers.

“It’s business as usual,” Ramirez said. “When you have 14 out of your 16 starters return from a team that has won the state championship three years in a row, this is pretty much what we expected.”

One of those returning starters hungry to take home a state title is senior Jessica Bourque.

Bourque is competing in the singles competition for the first time after winning the state championship three-straight years in the girl’s doubles competition.

While the senior said she prefers doubles, she’s not exactly a duck out of water in the singles game, winning the regional title without losing a single set.

“It’s completely different,” she said. “The spotlight is all on you. It’s all up to you. You don’t have anyone to rely on.”

With Bourque out of the picture on the double’s side, Vandebilt is still well represented with the team of Sarah Bourgeois and Emma Pitre, who are the Lady Terriers’ top seed headed into state in doubles.

That duo is in its first season of competition for Vandebilt, but they say they have been a team for a long time.

“We’re good friends. We’ve been playing together for a long time, so that helps,” Bourgeois said.

“We’ve been on the court with one another since we were very, very little,” Pitre added with a laugh.

On the boy’s side, Vandebilt also is well represented in doubles, as returning state champions Jacob Richard and Matt Spence are shooting for back-to-back titles.

“We just don’t get mad at one another,” Spence said. “We just know how to pick one another up. We both understand that we’re going to make mistakes, so when we do, we just keep going.”

“Whether it’s a high-five or a fist-bump or whatever, whenever one of us is down, we do something to pick each other up,” Richard added.

Arguably their biggest obstacle are their teammates, the team of Hayden Bergeron and Philip McMahon, whom they defeated in the state finals last year.

While that’s good for the team, that’s a situation that’s tough amongst friends who want to succeed, but also want their friends to do well, too.

“It’s always rough playing against your teammates,” Spence said. “We’re all really close. We want to win, but at the same time, we’re all still friends at the end of it. Honestly, it’s just really awkward almost.”

On the singles side, the Terriers will also be represented strongly by Nicholas Caletri, who finished as the state runner-up last season.

So with Regionals out of the way, it’s time for Vandebilt to focus on its season-long goal.

Because while being the best in the Region is an honor, being the best in the state is the team’s goal.

“Right,” Ramirez said quickly with a smile when asked if the state title is his team’s goal.

But he also urged his players to appreciate the successes they have and to not take anything for granted, the foundation he said has gotten the team to the point where they are now.

“I don’t think it’s fair to judge the success of your program or the success of your year based on whether you get a gold trophy or not at the end of the year,” Ramirez said. “It’s kind of a double-edged sword. We’re fortunate because we’ve won three in a row, the boys and the girls the last three years. But it’s also unfortunate because you get in a situation where you don’t really get excited for the little things. To me, winning a regional championship, that’s nothing to sneeze at. … To me, this is still a big accomplishment.”