Elton John's tribute to the late Princess Diana of Wales was the nation's No. 1 song, and Bruno Mars celebrated his 12th birthday the last time Queensbury's varsity girls tennis program won a sectional title.
On Oct. 8, 1997, the Spartans defeated Emma Willard, 5-2, in the Section 2 Class B final. Since then, QHS fell four times to Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake (2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023) and once to Albany Academy in the Class A championship, including excruciating 4-3 losses to BH-BL in 2023 and Albany Academy last year.
At Saratoga Springs High School on Friday, Oct. 17, a Global Scholars student-athlete from Germany empowered the 2025 unit to exorcise past disappointments and become a part of Spartan history.
Top-seeded Queensbury earned its eighth sectional championship and first as a Class A participant after dropping five of the previous seven title matches with a dramatic 4-3 triumph over No. 2-Albany Academy.
Battling leg cramps, darkness and an unflappable opponent, Queensbury varsity girls tennis player Viktoria Braun dug deep and discovered another gear. Trailing 4-2 in the match-deciding tiebreaker against Albany Academy's Sarah Iovieno, Braun captured six of the final eight points to emerge victorious, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (8-6) in a grueling, three-set masterpiece which featured epic rallies and plenty of perseverance.
"Being part of this amazing team as an exchange student has been an incredible experience," expressed Braun, who improved to 11-0 as a singles player this year. "We played an outstanding season and earned this title together. I’m so proud of every single one of my teammates and deeply grateful for how warmly they welcomed me and cheered me on. A huge ‘thank you’ to Coach Fraser for always trusting and believing in me ... this title is for you, Coach!"
After increasing their active dual match winning streak to 12 and tying last year's program record with victory No. 16, the Spartans (16-3) will face Class AA champion Saratoga Springs, a 6-3 winner over Guilderland, in the Section 2 Division 1 playoff matchup.
Ninth-grader Breck Allen turned in her best performance of the season and was the first to exit the courts with a seismic sweep at No. 2 singles.
“This sectional title means so much to our team,” she said. “We’ve had a great season and really came together as a team today. We are so lucky to have Coach Fraser; I don’t think we could have anyone more supportive!”
Senior co-captain Tessa Murray and junior co-captain Nicole Greenstein were members of the 2021, 2023 and 2024 squads that came up short.
"As a senior, earning the girls sectional tennis title alongside my amazing teammates and our incredible coach was a dream come true," declared Murray, who prevailed in straight sets at No. 3 singles and tied Olivia Fraser '18 at fourth on the school's all-time list with her 80th combined (single and doubles) win. "The hard work we all poured into every practice paid off. Sharing the victory with teammates and our coach made it an unforgettable and rewarding experience."
"The entire season helped set us up for this amazing win and it couldn’t be more deserved for our team," gushed Greenstein. "As a junior, I’ve waited for this moment since seventh grade and it was just as perfect of a moment as expected! Our team worked so hard this year and so did our coach, who wanted this win just as badly as us. Like Coach Fraser always says, 'It’s best to learn by winning,' and that’s exactly what we did!"
Doug Fraser, who has guided the Spartans to 150 wins in 11 seasons as head coach, was exponentially ecstatic.
“Tessa Murray and Breck Allen set the tone,” exclaimed Fraser. “Breck was just amazing today and Tessa was truly special as well. They got off the court early and really gave us a good vibe and a lot of positive energy to start. Grace O’Keeffe played great tennis as well. She was the third to come off and then a lot of drama unfolded. Obviously, this is a special moment for these young ladies and me; we’ve been knocking at the door for a long time and we finally just broke it down and crossed that finish line.
“The effort and resilience of Viktoria Braun was something that I’ve never witnessed before. She stepped up under pressure,” Fraser continued. “Losing the second set and trailing in the tiebreaker, she found a way to execute and concentrate under extreme conditions and clinched the victory for us. It’s just so emotional; winning a Section 2 Class A championship is something we will always remember, and it's a very special night for us. It’s nourishing to my heart and I’ll always remember how amazing these ladies have been.”
Albany Academy concluded its outstanding campaign with a 15-2 overall record.
QUEENSBURY 4, ALBANY ACADEMY 3
(at Saratoga Springs High School)
Singles
1. Zhiyi Zhang (AA) def. Nicole Greenstein, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1
2. Breck Allen (Q) def. Blair O'Brien, 6-0, 6-0
3. Tessa Murray (Q) def. Gabriella Balboa, 6-2, 6-0
4. Viktoria Braun (Q) def. Sarah Iovieno, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (8-6)
5. Grace O'Keeffe (Q) def. Kara Corso, 6-0, 6-1
Doubles
1. Vivian Frazier/Anastasya Nechyporuk (AA) def. Kate Trowbridge/Samantha Smead, 6-4, 6-3
2. Alexandra Dorman/Chaewon Lee (AA) def. Lucci Jiang/Jivina Jiang, 6-0, 6-3