All-State tennis: Here are Seacoast players honored

For the first time, boys and girls tennis coaches got together in their respective divisions and leagues, to vote and recognize All-State selections for the sport.

"I am so pleased that the tennis coaches were able to collaborate and establish a voting system for All-State teams," Dover girls head coach Sue Vitko said, crediting Portsmouth girls head coach Wendy Poutre for spearheading the effort. "It is great to be able to recognize outstanding student-athletes in tennis."

Poutre said her, along with others, have been trying to get a New Hampshire high school Tennis Coaches Association up and running so tennis athletes get the recognition of All-State teams like other sports.

"Thankfully, other coaches agreed, and we finally gained traction this year to follow through," Poutre said. "I'm so grateful and ecstatic that players across divisions will be honored."

Here are the All-State student-athletes from around the Seacoast.

GIRLS TENNIS ALL-STATE

DIVISION I

Dover senior Tory Vitko and Exeter's Katie Rocha represent the Seacoast as All-State first team selections, while Dover freshman Paige Wilson was selected to second team.

Coach Sue Vitko said the honor is a "punctuation mark" on her daughter Tory's high school athletic career. The coached added it's an incredible recognition for Wilson, whose freshman season was as good as it gets for the Green Wave.

DIVISION II

Portsmouth's Sophia Jundi, Winnacunnet's Stella Sebeny and Mia Botnick and Oyster River's Clea Gibson received first team honors.

Oyster River's Sophie Gibson and Portsmouth's Avery Porter were named to second team.

DIVISION III

St. Thomas Aquinas' Ana Seifert was second team All-State.

BOYS TENNIS

St. Thomas Aquinas' Alex Molda was named the first ever Division III Player of the Year, and father and head coach Adam Molda was named co-coach of the year to lead Division III. Ryan Whiting of the Saints was also named first team All-State.

"Alex had a phenomenal season and is deserving to be the Player or the Year," St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Adam Molda said.

Alex Molda went 31-0 in both singles and doubles, losing only six games in his 17 singles matches. In the state singles individual tournament, Molda was the only non-senior player who advanced to the semifinals.

"Alex will only get better over the next two years and will continue to be one the top players in the state," Molda added. "Ryan was the leader of our team, both on and off the court."

Whiting won 28 of his 31 matches in singles and doubles this season.

DIVISION I

Exeter's Oliver Barardino and Nate Bigelow were named to the second team.

DIVISION II

Portsmouth's Jiles Tracz was named to the first team.

A trio of Winnacunnet players - Chris Berry, Luke McLaughlin and AJ McLaughlin - were named to the second team, and i he Warriors received the team sportsmanship award for 2024.