BRISTOL — The record of the Mt. Hope High School girls' tennis team compiled in 2024 didn't bely the good feelings the Huskies had this fall as they attempted to rebuild in the state's top tier, Division I.

The locals closed out their slate over the last few weeks with a 3-12 overall record, including a 7-0 setback to visiting East Greenwich, 7-0, Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 15, which was Senior Day for the Huskies.

The EG match marked the final home outing for the Huskies' trio of soon-to-be grads, captains and top three singles players Emma Coelho, Elena Oliveira and Emma Alice Caetano, each of whom moved up from playing doubles a year ago to the solo ranks in 2024.

Caetano playing the most competitive of the three against the Avengers in a 6-2, 7-5 loss. Freshman Kaia Brown dropped a 6-1, 7-5 decision at fourth singles.

Mt. Hope dropped its next outing the following day, October 16, Narragansett by the same 7-0 count. Brown again played a competitive match from the four position, falling 1-and-2, while the Huskies' No. 1 doubles team of Maggie Dufficy and Lexi Sousa lost 6-3 and 6-2.

The Huskies closed their busy week with a 5-2 victory on the road against Scituate on October 18. Coelho won her outing 6-2, 6-3, Oliveira hers 6-1, 6-1 and Brown 6-3, 6-2. Sousa and Dufficy were 6-3, 6-2 winners as were Ava Cabral and and Alycea Vega at third dubs by the scores of 6-4, 3-6 and 10-0 in a super tiebreaker.

And to conclude their slate Monday afternoon, Oct. 21, the Huskies fell by a narrow 4-3 count on the road against against Cranston West. Caetano won her final high school match up 6-4 and 3-0 when her opponent retired. Brown went the distance in her victory 6-4. 5-7 and 6-2 and the Sousa-Dufficy team won 6-4, 7-6 (7-5).

After finishing with a fine 8-4 record last fall and qualifying for the state championship playoffs, Mt. Hope saw a dozen players graduate from the program. That group included all four singles players and three others who saw meaningful court time, setting up the rebuild this season.

"We have a great group of girls this year," said first-year MHHS head coach Nolan Ross, who succeeded former head coach Andrew Sabourin in time for the 2024 campaign.

He continued, "We lost 12 girls from last year, but we had a lot of interest in the team this year (The Huskies' 2024 roster had 16 players). We only had five girls returning and three of those were our seniors, captains, who stepped into the leadership role very well. So this year we just focused on rebuilding the team and going from there next year."

Mt. Hope's ranks were bolstered by the addition of freshman Brown, who not only was just entering high school, but was also a novice to the sport. Brown, who is also a hockey player, made an immediate impact, earning the No. 4 singles position on the ladder.

"Kaia's a multi-sport athlete. She came on to the team with a really good attitude," Ross said of Brown. "I think she saw how the three seniors, the captains went about things and took from that, and I think the rest of the team already sees her as a leader herself."

The rest of the starting lineup included the junior tandem of Dufficy and Sousa, who played No. 1 doubles. Sophomores Hazel Bradley and Avery Walsh were the steady duo at second pairs. Those to play from the third dubs spot included sophomores Alycea Vega and Charlotte Arsenault along with freshman Ava Cabral.

The Mt. Hope roster also included juniors Isabella Brando and Zoe Lombardi as well as sophomores Marissa Cabral, Leah Carotenuti and Lily Parisi.

"The vibe around the team is positive. We're optimistic. It's a new start for the whole team," Ross said of this fall leading into next.

"Some of them are already planning on doing clinics over the winter to continue hitting the ball and getting practice playing," he added. "I think we have a lot of players who are looking forward to staying on the team and to continue to grow as a group."

(Updated, November 17, 6:15 p.m.) Brown, Dufficy, Sousa, Walsh and Bradley are expected to pace the cast of returning players next fall, which the coach hope to include many newcomers to squad.

"We focused a lot about working as a team this year, having the right mindset. We focused a lot about the mental game. There's a very good relationship between the players on the team," said Ross, who was assisted for the latter part of the fall by Sara Sousa.

He added, "We also did a lot of fundamentals this year. So we're going to build on that, continue to get better and moving on to more advanced techniques next year."