SCHENECTADY, N.Y. — In a rematch of the 2023 semifinals, No. 1 seed, Niskayuna’s Olivia Dartawan repeated as the Section II high school girls’ singles sectional champion, defeating the No. 3 seed, Shenendehowa’s Jolie Chicak, 6-0, 6-2, in the finals, at the Central Park Tennis Courts in Schenectady on Thursday afternoon. The victory capped off an undefeated season for the sophomore Dartawan.

Dartawan and the eighth-grader Chicak, along with the winner of Thursday’s third-place match, Holy Names senior Riley Schmitz, who defeated Greenville senior Bryn Fitzmaurice (6-2, 6-0), will represent Section II in the state tournament next week downstate at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing.

The defending state runner-up Dartawan described the work she’s put in to climb back to the top and stay on top.

“I’ve been working on doing a lot of footwork and agility to help me move better on the court and be faster,” Dartawan said.

“I’ve also been working mentally to help myself focus better because I swear tennis is a lot of mental, you have to be strong mentally to stay in the matches because you’re alone on the court, so that’s what I was trying to do and what helped me win today,” Dartawan noted on how she pushes herself.

Dartawan additionally commented on what gave her the edge to repeat for the sectional title.

“For my match today I was really focused on just trying to stay focused during the points because yesterday I was getting a little frustrated because my opponent kept hitting the ball back,” Dartawan remarked.

“So, today I wanted to improve by just staying locked in on every point and trying to keep my game aggressive because that’s how I like it and just make smart shots and stay consistent,” Dartawan added on her approach.

After her match, she expressed her enthusiasm about returning to the King Center for the state tournament.

“I’m so excited for states! I love going to states, especially now we get to travel, it’s in New York City in the Billie Jean King Center, so I’m really excited to go down there and hit on those courts,” Dartawan explained.

As for her expectations, Dartawan noted the importance of sticking to her game and allowing everything else to hopefully fall into place.

“I just wanna play each match well and have a good mentality and have a good intensity for each match and just stay focused and if I do all that I’ll be happy with how I do,” Dartawan added.