WEST WINDSOR — By the time the tiebreaker at second singles was about to start all the remaining members of the Shawnee and West Windsor-Plainsboro North girls tennis teams had crowded around the fence to watch. One of those two schools was walking out of the Mercer Tennis Center on Thursday with a first state championship in program history. Victoria vonHahmann delivered the Group III title to the Renegades when she rolled in the tiebreaker after splitting a pair of hard-fought sets against the Knights’ Eva Fea. “I didn’t know my match depended on it, so I kind of just tried to focus and keep doing what I was doing,” said vonHahmann. “I stayed confident.” The Shawnee freshman won the first set 6-3, but the North junior rallied back to take the second set 6-3 and force the 10-point tiebreaker. VonHahmann quickly regrouped and took quick control. She won the first eight points on her way to a 10-1 tiebreaker that provided the decisive point in a 3-2 victory for the Burlington County school. “I was just trying to outlast her,” vonHahmann said. “Every point counts. I was trying to win as many as I can and if I can’t win the point just stay in it longer than her.” The Shawnee girls tennis team poses for a photo after defeating West Windsor-Plainsboro North during the Group III girls tennis state championship on Thursday afternoon at the Mercer Tennis Center in West Windsor. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Shawnee (15-0) is led by a pair of freshmen stars. In addition to vonHahmann’s clutch performance in the tiebreaker, Sofia Basto-Cabrera set the tone with a straight set 6-0, 6-0 victory over Sarah Henderson at first singles. “I was being aggressive and trying to keep her on her toes, trying to move her” Basto-Cabrera said. “Then having quick feet and recover quickly to the middle. I felt really good in this match.” There didn’t seem to be any nerves among the Renegade youngsters. “The worst part is before it starts,” Basto-Cabrera said. “The most important thing is just remembering that I got it, I’ll be fine, and just trust my serve and my shots.” Shawnee made a clean sweep of the singles flights with Divya Prajapati knocking off Megan Chung 6-3, 6-2 at third singles. Shawnee’s Sofia Basto-Cabrera sets herself to return a shot in a first singles match during the Group III girls tennis state championship on Thursday afternoon at the Mercer Tennis Center in West Windsor. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) The Knights (18-3) lost to a public school for the first time — their two previous defeats came against Lawrenceville and Peddie, although they later avenged that loss to Lawrenceville — but scored big in the doubles flights. Math Patmidi and Anjali Vemuri won at first doubles over Emam Czechowski and Sofia Kaufer 6-1, 7-5; and Isabella Abrigo and Yashica Tanuku took care of Sophia Giordano and Sophia Shoff 6-3, 6-2 at second doubles. “Our communication today was really good and I think it’s a lot more pressure when you know it’s up to you in a way,” Patmidi said. “We were able to manage and pull through.” Patmidi and Vemuri had quite the adventure closing out their match after they built a 5-2 lead in the second set. Czechowski and Kaufer rallied back from three match points down 5-2 to get it to 5-all before the Knights duo tightened it up and won the next two games. “My heart was racing,” Vemuri said. “Maybe we started giggling a little too much.” “I think we got a little excited,” Patmidi said. “We had to regain our focus and go on from there.” West Windsor-Plainsboro North’s Maahi Patmidi, left, and Anjali Vemuri, right, smile after they won their match at first doubles during the Group III girls tennis state championship on Thursday afternoon at the Mercer Tennis Center in West Windsor. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) North cruised into the state final with a 5-0 sweep over Colts Neck in the semis. The CVC school picked up wins over Red Bank Regional, Millburn and Princeton on its way to the North 2, Group III sectional crown. Shawnee won the South Group III section with victories over Highland, Central Regional, Ocean City and Clearview. “I’m going to cheer on my teammates,” Basto-Cabrera said. “That’s the good part about high school tennis; that team aspect you can’t really get in tennis. In the Non-Public championship, Princeton Day (11-5) fell to top-ranked Pingry (16-0) by the score of 5-0. West Windsor-Plainsboro North's Sarah Henderson hits the ball against Shawnee in her first singles match during the Group III girls tennis state championship on Thursday afternoon at the Mercer Tennis Center in West Windsor. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)West Windsor-Plainsboro North's Sarah Henderson serves the ball against Shawnee in her first singles match during the Group III girls tennis state championship on Thursday afternoon at the Mercer Tennis Center in West Windsor. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)Shawnee's Sofia Basto-Cabrera serves the ball against West Windsor-Plainsboro North in her first singles match during the Group III girls tennis state championship on Thursday afternoon at the Mercer Tennis Center in West Windsor. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)West Windsor-Plainsboro North's Eva Fea hits a shot against Shawnee in her second singles match during the Group III girls tennis state championship on Thursday afternoon at the Mercer Tennis Center in West Windsor. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)Shawnee's Victoria vonHahmann returns the ball against West Windsor-Plainsboro North in her second singles match during the Group III girls tennis state championship on Thursday afternoon at the Mercer Tennis Center in West Windsor. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)West Windsor-Plainsboro North's Megan Chung hits a shot against Shawnee in her third singles match during the Group III girls tennis state championship on Thursday afternoon at the Mercer Tennis Center in West Windsor. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)Shawnee's Divya Prajapati returns a shot in her third singles match against West Windsor-Plainsboro North during the Group III girls tennis state championship on Thursday afternoon at the Mercer Tennis Center in West Windsor. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)West Windsor-Plainboro North's Anjali Vemuri watches her shot in the first doubles match against Shawnee during the Group III girls tennis state championship on Thursday afternoon at the Mercer Tennis Center in West Windsor. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)West Windsor-Plainsboro North's Maahi Patmidi returns a shot against Shawnee in a first doubles match during the Group III girls tennis state championship on Thursday afternoon at the Mercer Tennis Center in West Windsor. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)West Windsor-Plainsboro North's Maahi Patmidi, left, and Anjali Vemuri, right, smile after they won their match at first doubles during the Group III girls tennis state championship on Thursday afternoon at the Mercer Tennis Center in West Windsor. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)Shawnee's Sofia Basto-Cabrera sets herself to return a shot in a first singles match during the Group III girls tennis state championship on Thursday afternoon at the Mercer Tennis Center in West Windsor. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)Shawnee's Victoria vonHahmann is mobbed by teammates after she won her second singles match during the Group III girls tennis state championship on Thursday afternoon at the Mercer Tennis Center in West Windsor. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)The Shawnee girls tennis team poses for a photo after defeating West Windsor-Plainsboro North during the Group III girls tennis state championship on Thursday afternoon at the Mercer Tennis Center in West Windsor. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)Show Caption1 of 13West Windsor-Plainsboro North's Sarah Henderson hits the ball against Shawnee in her first singles match during the Group III girls tennis state championship on Thursday afternoon at the Mercer Tennis Center in West Windsor. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)Expand