Winning a second straight state championship was at the least as equally fun and satisfying as the first, according to Simone Bergeron, but the Madison Warhawks senior admitted there were added expectations being the defending champion.
Bergeron recently won the Virginia High School League’s Class 6 girls state singles tennis tournament by defeating Sofia Raval of Battlefield, 6-4, 6-2, in the championship match to cap a second straight undefeated season, this year with a 19-0 mark.
“A lot of it was the pressure and the stress I put on myself because I was expected to win it again,” Bergeron said. “But it was definitely satisfying, and a big relief really, to win it a second time.”
Bergeron is the second Madison girls player to win multiple state titles. Katie Ruckert won three straight such crowns from 1998 to 2000.
Bergeron was 2-0 in the state tournament, defeating Meghan Moore of Cosby, 6-1, 6-0, in the semifinals.
Prior to the state competition, Bergeron won Concorde District and 6D North Region singles tournaments, finishing with a 7-0 postseason record. Overall, she had a 37-0 singles record as a junior and senior and went 49-2 during her high-school career.
“Getting to play high-school tennis was so awesome,” Bergeron said. “It was such a positive atmosphere on our team. Now I’m looking forward to the energy of playing college tennis.”
Bergeron will play in college for the Division I Elon University women’s team.
Stacey Reynolds coached Bergeron at Madison.
“Simone has that gut and determination, and she has tennis intelligence and is savvy,” Reynolds said. “In the first few games of a match, she will gauge her opponent’s strengths and weaknesses, then go from there. She never missed a match at Madison and was so inspiring to our other players. We called her ‘Mony’ like the life insurance.”
Bergeron helped the Madison team finish as district co-champions with the Oakton Cougars during the spring, then finish second in the region tournament, and finally go 1-1 in the state team tourney.
NOTES: In addition to being on center stage in the state singles tournament, Bergeron also was front and center as the senior student speaker at Madison’s graduation . . . Reynolds has stepped down after completing her ninth season as Madison’s head girls tennis coach. Bergeron’s mother, Lylan Bergeron, who played for the women’s team at the University of Virginia, will be the new head coach.
