By Andy Hutchison

WESTPORT — It’s no secret the FCIAC typically has the best high school tennis in the state. 

So when No. 11 seed Staples High girls squad saw the draw for the Class LL State Tournament, with most other FCIAC teams on the other side of the bracket, Coach Jena Wider and company saw an opportunity.

Staples may have to pull off some on-paper upsets, but the Wreckers will not have to face an FCIAC counterpart until the championship round if they continue to advance.

Meanwhile, the Wreckers defeated No. 22 New Britain 7-0 in the state tourney’s qualifying round at home last Friday, and then went on the road and beat No. 6 Cheshire 4-3 in the first round the next day.

Staples will travel to No. 3 Maloney in Meriden for a quarterfinal matchup at 3 p.m. Tuesday. With a win, the Wreckers would visit either No. 2 South Windsor or No 7 Hall of West Hartford in the semis the next day.

Whether it is the Wreckers or somebody else, the winner from this half of the bracket is guaranteed to face an FCIAC school. The other half is represented by No. 1 Greenwich, No. 9 Wilton, No. 4 Darien and No. 5 Fairfield Ludlowe.

“We were very fortunate with our draw, with many of our toughest competition in the FCIAC on the other side of the bracket,” Wider said. “The girls are totally fired up and focused on giving it their all on the court. We are looking forward to our next match up against Maloney in Meriden. We locked in and ready.”

Results from the 7-0 win over New Britain are:

Singles

Amelia Berkowitz vs. Naomi Berrezueta, 6-0, 6-0

Aanya Gandhi vs. Makaila Matos, 6-0, 6-0

Sarah Marron vs. Thalia Blanco, 6-0,6-0

Sadie Yanks vs. Maddie Cor, 6-0, 6-0

Doubles

Lola Lamensdorf/Rhiya Anand vs. Yaidanys Echevarria/Natalia Wiktorek, 6-0, 6-0

Isabel Alfageme/Maddie Hendley vs. Isha Islam/ Jade Benetiz, 6-1, 6-0

Dylan Lehrer/Bridget Menninger vs. Julia Tywaura and Briana Luciano, 6-0, 6-0

Results from the victory over Cheshire (* signifies Staples win):

Singles

Amelia Berkowitz vs. Alex Orlins, 0-6, 0-6

Aanya Gandhi vs. Anja Josef, 6-4, 5-7, 2-6

Sarah Marron vs. Eva Curran, 2-6, 6-7 (5-7)

*Sadie Yanks vs. Hailey Weissman, 6-0, 6-2

Doubles

*Lola Lamensdorf/Rhiya Anand vs. Arya Desai/Riley Baldoni, 6-2, 6-1

*Isabel Alfageme/Maddie Hendly vs. Ashley Lentini/Tannistha Thumatti, 6-0, 6-0

*Bridget Menninger/Dylan Lehrer vs. Ava DiCicco/ Brianna Hawkins, 6-0, 6-4

Andy Hutchison has been covering school sports — including Staples athletics — as well as news and feature stories in Fairfield County, since the 1990s.