New tennis courts bring imperiled team back from the brink

One short year ago, the Housatonic girl’s tennis team forfeitedmultiple matches a week. With just seven girls, they couldn’t fill a full roster of 10 players. As two of those players graduated, it left the team wondering what the next season would look like, if girl’s tennis would have another season at all.

But this season the girls have taken on full sweep victories, without forfeiting a single match. What happened? Thanks to the school’s investment in the team and an onslaught of freshman players, the Housatonic girl’s team was able to go from the brink of extinction to an accomplished and close-knit group of 17 players.

This year, HVRHS installed brand new courts after taxpayers approved improvements to the school in January 2024. That upgrade brought renewed interest in the team.

While the girls only had a few wins in their Berkshire League competition, this was a huge building year for the team, captain and first-singles player Victoria Brooks said.

But Girl’s Tennis isn’t the only sport making a comeback this year. Cheerleading has returned to Housatonic for the first time since 2005, and that’s just the beginning. The 2025 spring season has been filled with major wins for Housatonic athletics. Boy’s tennis had two players become Berkshire League all-stars, and the track team has been breaking records set decades before. Boy’s Baseball and Girl’s lacrosse are on their way to states after a great season.

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“It has been student driven 100%. The kids do the leg work and I just do what I can as an athletic director to support that,” said Housatonic’s athletic director Anne MacNeil. “Education-based athletics is not just about wins and losses. We are an extension of the classroom, so we base ourselves on life lessons.”

With the resurgence of so many Housatonic sports this year, it begs the question of what’s next? Could Boy’s Lacrosse or a Field Hockey team make a comeback? Or maybe something new is on the way.With a small school like HVRHS, it can be difficult to fill new teams, according to MacNeil. “If they come to me with enough numbers that make sense, then let’s go for it.”

However, it’s unlikely we’ll be seeing anything new upcoming. “Unfortunately our numbers do not really allow for new sports,” MacNeil said. “We struggled to fill JV spots – if we’re going to add sports, it takes students away from teams already established.” Despite its size, HVRHS has managed to excel athletically, largely thanks to its dedicated and determined student athletes.