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Avon doubles team earn All-State honors

NEW HAVEN, June 6 – Two players from the NCCC champion Avon girls tennis team earned All-State honors at the recent CIAC State Open tournament at Yale University. Juniors Nicole Berns and Kate Burdick earned All-State honors by advancing to the quarterfinals before being eliminated by the eventual Open champions from Weston.

Six players from the NCCC champion Avon High girls tennis team participated in the CIAC State Open tournament. From left, Avon High girls coach Joel Ziff, Liza Blank, Nicole Berns, Laura Parsons, Kate Burdick and Christine Parsons. Missing is Kate Biffinger.

Berns and Burdick, Avon’s No. 1 doubles team, had another outstanding year for the Falcons, going undefeated (20-0) for the second straight year. They’ve lost just one regular season match (41-1) in three years and have been named All-NCCC all three seasons.

The duo helped Avon post its second straight undefeated season (20-0) and win its second straight NCCC championship. Avon was upset by Branford, 4-3, in the first round of the Class M tournament but two doubles teams and two singles players qualified for the State Open.

Berns and Burdick were the only Avon players to earn victories at the State Open. Seeded seventh, they easily beat Chelsea Crehan and Molly Perkins of Valley Regional, 9-3, followed by a 8-2 victory over Shaw Childs and Riley Brigham from Shepaug Valley.

Berns and Burdick battled hard to advance to the quarterfinals with a victory in a three-hour match played under the hot sun. After dropping the first set to No. 10 Mallory Will and Liz Matis of Fairfield Ludlow,, 3-6, they tied the match with a 6-3 win in the second set. Will and Matis took a 4-2 lead in the third set but Berns and Burdick refused to wilt, winning four straight matches to earn a 6-4 victory.

In the quarterfinals, No. 2 Marie Gargiulo and Lindsey Gersh of Weston, the eventual State Open champions, eliminated Berns and Burdick, 6-2, 6-2.

In singles, Kate Biffinger’s late comeback wasn’t enough in a 9-7 loss to Maloney’s Kelsey Lorusso. Teammate Liza Blank was seeded 12th but dropped a first round match to Greenwich’s Jessica Ertel, 8-3. Avon’s Christine and Laura Parsons were beaten in their opening round doubles match by Anne Mallin and Layne Rissolo of Fairfield Ludlowe, 8-3.

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Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of The Collinsville Press. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.

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