PCD, St. Raphael girls tennis combine forces to win the 2025 Division III championship

PAWTUCKET – Mays Miller didn’t want to combine her tennis team with another program.

It was her senior year, she knew all of the girls already and what to expect for the season. Isla Blecker was the same way. She’d just entered her freshman year of high school and already had to learn the game and her new friends.

The two Providence Country Day School students entered a whole new world when they found out that the Knights were combining forces with St. Raphael Academy this season. Their tunes changed quickly, and everyone on the newly dubbed Holy Warriors – arguably the best nickname in the state – benefited from the change.

The third-ranked St. Raphael/PCD (11-3) co-op captured the Division III title in dominant fashion with a 4-0 win over No. 1 Coventry (11-2) on Saturday, Nov. 1. The Holy Warriors, donning St. Raphael tops and PCD bottoms, were done with championship matches before the lights flipped on at Slater Park.

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“We’ve bonded since then, but when we first found out, we emailed our coaches and said we weren’t starting with another school,” Miller said. “I did not want to do this, but I love these girls so much. We’ve become really close over these past few weeks, and we’re even taking them to our homecoming.”

“I’ve never played high school tennis before, so I was nervous about that. And I was even more nervous to meet people from St. Raphael,” Blecker said. “Even though it was a little awkward at first, we’ve gotten so close. I’m happy that we’re a co-op.”

Blecker captured the co-op’s first point with a 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 2 singles and then Claire Xie captured one singles in a 6-3, 6-1 finish. The freshman and junior tandem also helped send the Warriors to the championship with wins in their semifinal matches against defending champion Tiverton.

“It’s been really awesome to see how we’ve grown as a team,” Blecker said. “It just feels so nice to have so many friends that share the same love for tennis as I do.”

“Everyone on our team is very nice, and we cheer together and encourage each other,” Xie said. “It’s really like a family.”

The duo of Eliana Perez and Poppy Furtrell, at No. 3 doubles, won 6-4, 6-2, and then Miller and Ella Taylor, a St. Raphael senior, finished it off with a 6-3, 6-4 triumph at one doubles.

“It was a really great experience, and I was afraid to make new friends in my senior year,” Miller said. “But I’m so glad that I met all of them. It’s been really special.”

The top-seeded Oakers reached the title round after blanking No. 8 Toll Gate in the quarterfinal and outlasting No. 5 West Warwick in Tuesday’s semifinal, 4-3.

PCD, as a solo program, won the D-III title just two seasons ago. But the Saints haven’t enjoyed a championship season since 1997, when they won their only girls tennis title.  

“I’m still kind of in a haze, and I don’t really know what happened, but it was special,” Miller said. “I’m so proud of everyone.”

St. Raphael/Providence Country Day 4, Coventry 0

Singles: Claire Xie, S/P, def. Keely Sullivan, C, 6-3, 6-1; Isla Blecker, S/P, def. Lylia Davies, C, 6-1, 6-2.

Doubles: Mays Miller/Ella Taylor, S/P, def. Brooke Roma/Meladi McCue, C, 6-3, 6-4; Eliana Perez/Poppy Furtrell, S/P, def. Hailey Donehower/Lana Dufour, C, 6-4, 6-2.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: PCD/St. Raphael girls tennis wins the 2025 Division III championship