Girls tennis: McDermott twins help lift Marin Academy in NCS opener

Of course, the deciding match for the Marin Academy girls tennis team was won by a McDermott on Tuesday in the North Coast Section Division I first round.

The senior McDermott twins — Jane and Ann — are pillars for the Wildcats’ program, which is seeking a fourth-straight trip to the North Coast Section team semifinals.

Jane McDermott teamed up with Lily Weaver for the clinching victory in No. 1 doubles, 6-0, 6-1, to lift No. 4-seeded Marin Academy over No.13 Foothill, 4-3.

“I knew that of the final three matches that we had to win at least one,” said Jane McDermott. “And I knew based on looking at the other scores how good their opponents were — I knew ours was really important.”

Playing on the court next to her sister, Ann McDermott held down the No. 1 singles spot, falling to Rashni Raman 6-3, 6-4 shortly after her twin helped seal the Wildcats’ win. Considering Marin Academy’s No. 2 singles player Zoe Massey also lost a close one, the Wildcats’ win at No. 1 doubles was critical.

“I knew that if we won, the team would win,” said Jane McDermott. “It’s definitely more pressure. We tried not to let it impact the way we played.”

Besides the Wildcats’ team successes, including second place in the Bay Counties League, Marin Academy’s twins have produced three straight league doubles titles and won back-to-back NCS championships together.

“When you get them together, they’re more than the sum of their parts,” Marin Academy coach Rob McGraw said of the McDermotts. “It’s super important. They’ve been with the program for four years. They’ve been nothing but positive and pillars of our program.”

Marin Academy returns to Marin Tennis Club in San Rafael on Thursday for a second-round date against No. 5 Northgate with a trip to the semifinals at stake.

The Wildcats started off hot against visiting Foothill from Pleasanton, winning the first sets in all four matches. They ended up taking three of them, but it wasn’t easy.

In No. 2 doubles, Chloe George and Reese Goodenough trailed 4-1 in the second set before rebounding for a 6-1, 7-5 victory. Rani Haddad and Sky Wenner won the No. 3 and No. 4 singles matches in third-set tiebreakers.

“Our team has gotten a lot better this year,” said Jane McDermott. “We have a lot of new players this year who are all good. Our team has really good dynamics. I think that will make a difference.”

After competing in NCS Division II in the past, Marin Academy was bumped up to Division I in the new tournament structure, which is based on each team’s players’ UTR (Universal Tennis Rating) rankings. The good news is that Marin Academy won’t have to face BCL rival University ever again this season since the Red Devils are the top seed in the new Open Division, where Tam and Redwood were placed.

“It’s great — I just wish they weren’t in our league, either,” said McGraw of University. “We don’t have girls who want to go pro. We have girls who want to go to Harvard.”

MA lost to University in both meetings this season and fell to the Red Devils in the NCS semifinals in 2024 and 2022.

Should the Wildcats find their way back to the NCS semifinals, they will play at Northgate High in Walnut Creek on Saturday.

The NCS Division 2 singles and doubles tournaments will be hosted by the MCAL and staged at Marin Tennis Club, Nov. 17-18. The McDermotts should feel right at home as they shoot for an amazing NCS three-peat.