BEVERLY HILLS – Two state championship contenders did battle on the tennis courts at Detroit Country Day Friday afternoon.

Defending Division 3 champion Detroit Country Day came out with some fire and handled a Pontiac Notre Dame Prep team ranked second in Division 4 by a score of 7-1.

“It was good to see everyone come out with energy and be committed to cheering each other on. That was very nice to see,” said Country Day head coach Nick Fiaschetti. “I noticed we did a good job of dealing with adversity, because there were some moments that things could have gone really bad today.”

Karishma Vakhariya got a 6-2, 6-0 win in No. 3 singles, beating Ava Jarvis. Fiaschetti spoke about her performance as one that stood out to him on this day.

“She had a bit of a slow start and then just cruised after that,” Fiaschetti said. “She has had matches this year where it’s the complete opposite where she comes out hot and goes into a bit of a lull. Today she could have gotten herself into a scary situation, but she was smooth sailing.”

Elsewhere in the singles lineup, Country Day got a 6-0, 6-0 win from No. 2 singles Chloe Conniff, who beat Francheska Daugary. No. 4 singles Helen Benjamin got a good win over Lucy Silver as well, winning sets by scores of 6-3 and 6-1.

In No. 1 singles, Country Day senior Sophia Grzesiak, the defending state champ in D3 at that flight, beat Irish freshman Marissa Bitoni 6-3, 6-1.

Notre Dame Prep head coach Brandon Clayton complimented his top player, saying, “Marissa has been so good for us, and is just learning how small touch-ups make a big difference. She played a great opponent today, and that age difference can be tough to deal with.”

Clayton also talked about his No. 1 doubles team of Sophia Gust and Sara Okka that he felt put on an impressive display even in a loss.

“Our one doubles have really stepped up,” Clayton said. “Sophia and Sara have done a great job exceeding expectations. They were competitive for more than a set today. Those two have played Country Day before at lower positions and lost a lot worse than today. That shows their improvement.”

Country Day’s No. 1 doubles tandem is a state title contender and Quinn Norlander and Katie Han showed that with a 6-2, 6-1 win. Individually, Norlander made the finals last year in No. 2 singles and Han was the winner in the No. 4 singles flight.

Notre Dame Prep got its lone win of the day in No. 4 doubles as freshman pair Elena VanDieren and Vanessa Artinian came away with a strong 6-2, 7-5 victory over Katherine Chen and Grace Kalkanis.

“That is a team that does so well together. One can be a beast at the net, and one is so dangerous from the baseline. That is such a great combination especially at that spot in the lineup. If they can beat that team today, they’re capable of beating anyone in our division. Obviously we have a ton of good competition there, but they can do it.”

Country Day got good contributions from the rest of the bottom of their lineup. No. 5 doubles pair Zoe Bergg and Krya Zacharias beat Anna Kafarski and Tina Yeras 6-1, 6-1. Noor Mahmoud and Addie Grebinski got a 6-1, 6-3 win over Gemma Hofley and Regina Carpenese at No. 2 doubles, and at No. 3 doubles, Zoe Grebinski and Margaux Kohn won 6-3, 6-1 over Erin Delaney and Adriana Johnson.

Fiaschetti feels he has the right pieces throughout the doubles lineup, but the right combination may still be out there. “We know where we are right now, and we know where we are going to be,” he said. “We have maybe one question mark at the end of the lineup, but we have confidence in ourselves. The key is to continue working hard every day in practice, and we will be all set.”

Clayton praised his players for the rise of his program, which produced a runner-up finish at last year’s state tournament.

“Year-by-year, we keep getting better,” Clayton said. “The future’s so bright. We have never been competitive with a team like Country Day before, and now we are out there giving them tough matches around the lineup. As a coach I feel good about us being a school that good teams look at and want to play, and beat.”

Photos of Detroit Country Day vs. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep in girls tennis action

He added what facing a defending state champ in a higher division can do for his group.

“This is definitely one of the toughest challenges for us," Clayton said. "This is one of the best teams in the state, no matter what division. Playing them here is obviously less of an advantage for us, but I like the challenge. I love it for our girls. Today gave us so much to work on heading into our regional. I don't look at the final score on a day like today, us coaches will look at what we did to compete at this level and we’re learning that little things make a huge difference against elite competition.”

Country Day has a short turnaround for a highly competitive quad Saturday morning. The opposition includes last year's D1 runner-up Utica Eisenhower and three-time defending D4 champion Ann Arbor Greenhills. Fiaschetti broke down the day ahead.

“We are going to need our lower doubles to compete," Fiaschetti said. "We have big matches at our singles spots too, but we need to not overlook anything tomorrow. Maybe we can steal a few matches from Greenhills, Ike is one of the strongest teams in the state from top to bottom. So it will be tough.”