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Friendship helps Mooney duo get to Columbus
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Cardinal Mooney’s doubles team of Jamie DiDomenico, left, and Dominque Cicchi are headed to the state tennis meet.
Friendship helps Mooney duo get to Columbus
YOUNGSTOWN
The dream season for the Cardinal Mooney girls tennis doubles team of Dominique Cicchi and Jamie DiDomenico almost never happened.
A week before its first match in August, DiDomenico injured her leg on a trip to Lake Erie. She fell on a rock pile and put a hole through her shin.
“The doctors said I probably wouldn’t play at all this season,” DiDomenico said.
She ended up only being out for a month, but at the time, Mooney coach Jimmy Leslie had tough choices.
“Do I let Dominique play singles? Do I get her another doubles partner? If Jamie does come back is it too late in the season to make an impact?”
The answers: No. No. And absolutely not.
“Based off of the past,” Leslie said, “I couldn’t split them up. After one week of practice they were back to their normal selves and they were cruising through everybody.”
The girls compiled a 14-1 record in the fall that brought them up to 50-5 over their first three years.
“We play together everyday,” DiDomenico said. “We’re best friends and I think that helps the most. We know each other so well, we know our moves on the court.”
That friendship was evident since they started at Mooney two years ago.
“They bring each other up,” Leslie said. “It’s not just playing ability, it’s attitude and capability. They mesh so well and they really turned a corner this year.
“They’ve been solid athletically but really were lifted by understanding the mental aspect of tennis.”
Cicchi and DiDomenico beat Megan Guiliano and Marisa Stroup of JFK to advance to their second-straight district tournament in Canton. After making it to the second round a year ago, the pair of Cardinals beat teams from Notre Dame Cathedral Latin and Hathaway Brown before downing Rocky River’s Lucy Grierson and Alex Riegelsberger to earn the No. 3 seed at Friday’s state tournament in Columbus.
“We can’t believe we actually made it this far, this fast,” Cicchi said. “This season flew by. I think it was from all of the practice we had in the offseason. Our focus and teamwork is great and we always try to have a good attitude on and off the court.”
Cicchi, a junior, first picked up a tennis racket when she was 6, but her crowning achievement (before qualifying for state) was earning a varsity spot as a freshman.
“That’s when it really sparked an interest and I came to the realization that I could do well with it,” she said.
DiDomenico, also a junior, just stuck with the family tradition.
Her sister, Jackie, went to state in 2006. She is now on the tennis team at Walsh University, along with another Mooney alum, Allison St. George.
“I know, playing against her as an opposing coach, Jackie was a phenomenal player,” said Leslie, who was a coach at Liberty for six years before spending the last two with the Cardinals. “Her and Ali were exceptional players.”
Jamie’s younger sister, Jessica, and mother, Carol, also play.
“My mom and I will play doubles with Jessica and Jackie,” Jamie said. “[Jackie] isn’t as competitive as me so I took it harder than she does when I lose.”
That spirit, that determination and that will to win will be on display with the best in the state. Right next to her best friend.
“We always love great competition,” Cicchi said. “We’re not backing down. We’re right up in there with it and can’t wait for it.”
As a team, the Cardinals had a 20-2 record in 2012 and took three singles players (Gianna Reider, Hallie Yerin and Kacy Haggerty) to the distirct tournament for the first time in program history. All seven starters return for next year, too.