Besides Curt Killion, his Salem girls tennis team and the optimistic SHS supporters, few Class L playoff followers expected the Blue Devils to reach the state semifinals. Instead, sixthseeded Salem knocked off one higher-ranked foe to do just that, then pushed another to the limit before exiting the tournament just shy of the finals.

SHS reversed a 6-3 setback to Exeter on May 18, stunning the No. 3 seed in the quarterfinals on Thursday, May 28, but couldn’t duplicate the feat against No. 2 Concord, which beat the locals on Saturday, May 30, 5-4.

The Crimson Tide edged the Blue Devils by an identical score on May 6, sweeping the three doubles matches to overcome a 4-2 Salem lead following singles play. Killion said his charges needed to repeat that singles effort to oust Concord in the semis.

Salem, as Killion requested throughout the postseason, swung hard but narrowly missed the target.

Sophomore Danica Blakslee at No. 2, freshman Rachel Ward at No. 3 and junior Breanna Edelstein, down 2-0 early in her contest at No. 6, won their singles matches, but No. 1 Angela Rullo and No. 5 Cassie Hailson dropped theirs.

As fans, players and coaches gathered round, Caitlin Peters battled Amanda Unger before succumbing, 8-6, leaving the teams deadlocked at 3-3 entering doubles play.

“(Concord’s) doubles were so strong, we really had to win four singles matches to have a realistic chance,” said Killion, in his 20th year coaching. But Salem not only refused to go quietly, the team quickly took a 4-3 lead when Peters, a senior, teamed with Hailson, a freshman, to easily dispatch their opponents at No. 3 doubles, 8-1.

Rullo and Ward, another senior/freshman combination, couldn’t keep pace at No. 1 doubles with Concord’s duo, falling 8-2, while Blakslee and senior Julianna Blaisdell were beaten at No. 2 doubles, 8-4. Even in defeat, the Blakslee/ Blaisdell team scared Concord, cutting a sizeable 7-2 deficit to 7-4 with their shotmaking.

It was the first time Killion had paired Rullo with Ward and Blakslee with Blaisdell. Taking chances was something the coach felt comfortable doing with this group.

“I told them before the (Exeter) match that I didn’t want them sitting back and waiting for (their opponent to make) a mistake,” said the coach. “I told them to crush the ball. Just rip it, and let’s see what happens. They were a little surprised.”

Exeter was, too.

Blakslee, Peters, Hailson and Edelstein won their singles matches against the Blue Hawks. Though Rullo and fellow senior Angela Vinci lost their No. 1 doubles match, Blakslee and Ward at No. 2, as well as Peters and Hailson in the No. 3 spot they’ve dominated since teaming up at midseason, handily won.

“We’ve had other upset wins since I’ve been here, but never one with this gap in rankings,” said Killion, whose team finished 11-5. “The final score was a surprise to me. The fact that we won wasn’t a surprise.”

While Salem loses a number of key players – all of the aforementioned seniors and their classmates, Gabriella Cerrentani and Kelsey Donahue, along with Windham’s Ward, who heads to her new high school – Killion has lots of talent returning.

The steadily improving Blakslee, he said, should prove a formidable top-ranked player as a junior. Edelstein and her classmate, Kina Wilbur- Kamien, also come back for a final year, and Hailson has three years remaining.

“Caitlin started playing as a sophomore, but everyone else has been here for four years,” said Killion, who added, of course, he hoped Windham and Salem could have continued their partnership. “To have so many girls that are all pretty even, they handled the stress really well and were all good friends.”