Sports
Essex and Burlington claim wins at 2,026 individual tennis tournaments
The 2026 Vermont High School Individual Tennis Tournaments concluded on Sunday, May 31, with a quartet of first-time winners.
Both girls’ matchups went to a tiebreaker in the third set, with Essex senior Hannah Knickerbocker capturing her elusive title. Burlington High School won the boys’ singles and doubles tournaments, becoming the first school to accomplish the feat since St. Johnsbury did it in 2019.
Read on below for a summary of the finals of both tournaments.
Hannah Knickerbocker upsets the number one in the final; while Stowe’s freshman tandem wins the doubles match
In the last two individual tournaments, Hannah Knickerbocker advanced to the semifinals before her streak ended there. This past season, Knickerbocker spent much more time improving her tennis skills. With a stronger tennis IQ, Knickerbocker reached the final with a trio of consecutive set wins.
“Consistency and shot selection,” Knickerbocker said. “I think I’ve gotten better at knowing when to go for the win and when not to.”
There, Knickerbocker earned a match with No. 1 seed Anna Dauerman of Champlain Valley, the 2024 champion and last year’s runner-up. The match was competitive, with Knickerbocker winning a three-set thriller 6-4, 4-6, 10-8, becoming the first female Hornet to win an individual title since 2007.
The skills Knickerbocker worked on in the offseason paid off in her match against Dauerman.
“Anna is a very tough fighter, so a lot of balls come back and if you hit the wrong one too much, she beats you,” Knickerbocker said.
This is Knickerbocker’s fifth state title overall after winning the Division I girls volleyball championships all four years of high school. The 2024 Vermont Gatorade Player of the Year in Volleyball has an increased focus on tennis. Knickerbocker will play Division I tennis at the University of New Haven starting next school year.
While Knickerbocker saw this part of her career end on a high, India doubles champions Freund and Belle Gaines of Stowe hope to usher in a new wave of tennis talent. The freshman tandem teamed up for the individual tournament for the first time this season and won three straight matches to reach the finals.
Then in the championship, Freund and Gaines defeated Champlain Valley’s tandem of Sara DiGuglielmo and Justyna Amblo in three sets, 7-6 (7-3), 0-6, 12-10. The duo built on the momentum they had gained from their three-set victory over the Essex team in the May 31 final.
“We both like high-pressure situations, so maybe that was what we needed to play our best tennis,” Freund said.
Freund and Gaines are great friends on and off the court, playing tennis together year-round, making this tandem a formidable duo. Freund and Gaines showed maturity after getting crushed in the second set and squeezing out the win in the tiebreak.
“It was really impressive of us not to get into our heads, and it did for a while,” Gaines said.
Burlington wins the boys’ singles and doubles finals
The boys’ tennis had some drama, with rain forcing a break from matches at Leddy Park to drive to The EDGE Sports & Fitness in Essex. Yet the break (almost two hours for the doubles players) had no consequences for the leaders.
No. 3 Niah LeMay had a 4-2 lead in set 1 going into the weather-related break against teammate and all-time great Oscar Crainich. LeMay didn’t let the break slow him down or interrupt his momentum.
“Just take a really deep breath and try not to think about it,” LeMay said. “I turned on the radio and listened to some music.”
The sophomore defeated his teammate in straight sets with a 6-3, 7-5 win. In his run to the title, LeMay eliminated the top two seeds. The only set he has lost all season was against No. 2 Charles Young of Middlebury in the semifinals. LeMay brought the energy with passionate bursts of emotion after a hard shot.
LeMay becomes the first male Seahorse to win an individual title since 2004. It marks the first time since 2015 that the singles finals featured two members of the same school. LeMay and Crainich alternated between No. 1 and No. 2 Burlington this year after helping the Seahorses capture the 2025 team title.
“I’ve only beaten him once in the past,” LeMay said. “It felt really good to beat him as he is one of my main competitors, if not my main competition.”
Winning for Burlington did not stop at singles. The Seahorses’ No. 3 doubles team of Miles Kenny and Ben Koh captured the championship, also defeating No. 1 Middlebury Nate Cook-Yoder and Nathan Stefani 6-4, 7-5.
The weather break came after the Seahorses claimed the first set. It is the second year in a row that Burlington has claimed the doubles title. This is Kenny and Koh’s second championship this spring after helping Burlington win the 2026 Unified Basketball title earlier in May.
Contact Judith Altneu at [email protected]. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter: @Judith_Altneu.
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Sources 2/ https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/sports/high-school/varsityinsider/2026/05/31/essex-and-burlington-claim-wins-at-2026-vermont-individual-tennis-tournaments/90196060007/ The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article |
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