HS girl loses state tennis final after leaving court because of hecklers

The last singles match of Briana Leonard's high school tennis career ended prematurely Tuesday after she walked off the court in the second set of her state title match-up because of heckling by the crowd.

The ranked — and rankled — Leonard cut short her New Hampshire girl's tennis final against Sunday Swett when she decided to end the contest by leaving the court in the best-of-three match because the crowd wouldn't let up on her after taking a fall.

Swett, a Bow High School senior, was already one set up when Leonard, from Bishop Guertin, a college preparatory private Roman Catholic high school in Nashua, New Hampshire, chose to walk away.

The forfeit occurred when officials attempted to move the final at the end of the first set to a different court due to the failing light

Instead of heading to the new court, Leonard left with her parents and drove home.

"This has been going on for the last two years," Briana's mother Kristen Leonard said. 

"This is an 18-year-old girl who fell and got hurt and people are cheering. They were bullying her. This has been going on for two years. They’ve wanted her out for two years because she’s not a New Hampshire girl. Because we live in Massachusetts."

Her coach, Barry Ndynia, acknowledged that she had had to endure a hostile crowd, but said such challenges were often an integral part of sports.

"They thought the crowd was over the top, cheering for their daughter’s faults and things like that," he said.

"In sports that’s something you have to deal with. Some people will not cheer for you. They’ll cheer for your opponent. That’s why I was trying to keep her focused."

Leonard, who until Tuesday had not lost a match all season, was also docked a point before the match began because she was late getting to the court.

Her father, Tim, had been told to leave the premises after discussing the sanction with officials.

It took a moment for Sunday to realize she had won. "I thought it was a bathroom break and when everyone started cheering I thought it was more like, 'First Set! Keep it going!' And I was kind of like, 'thank you, but I’ve got to stay focused here.'"

Swett and Leonard have history despite Bow being in Division III and BG in Division I. Between USTA events and the NHIAA singles tournaments, Leonard owned a 4-0 record against Swett heading into Tuesday’s match – including a 6-0, 6-1 quarterfinal win in this same event last season.

"I’ve wanted this for so long. I was fired up," Swett said. "It was her choice. I’m not going to let it dampen my happiness."

The young Leonard might want to take a page from the Williams sisters who have — and would have — handled the taunting by sticking it out.

Gisele goes off on hecklers and Tommy's teammates

Tom Brady's supermodel wife Gisele Bundchen defended her husband after she was heckled by Giants fans right after the New England Patriots 21-17 Super Bowl loss to the New York Giants.  Too bad she also threw some of Brady's teammates under the bus as well.

After a  Giants fan shouted "Eli owns your husband" outside Lucas Oil Stadium, the Brazilian stunner shot back, "My husband cannot f---ing throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time.  I can't believe they dropped the ball so many times."

The slinky model was criticizing Patriots receivers who dropped a couple of key throws from Brady during critical times during the game.

Bundchen— who sent a new-age sounding email to "My sweet friends and family" pleading with them to pray for her "Tommy" to win before the game on Sunday— just made that mailing list a lot shorter.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the high-paid model has never endeared herself to Patriots players wives either.

A veteran team staffer said: "She may have had a point, but she should have left it to the sportswriters and other Monday morning quarterbacks... she is already not liked by many players and their wives due to her arrogant attitude... This sure won't help improve things."

According to the newspaper, Brady's wife has very few friends among his teammate's better halves.

Another source— close to the Patriots players' wives told the Sun Times, "Gisele is... so stuck up and treats them all like yahoos... In many cases, the other wives are not all that sophisticated , but Gisele has been openly snotty to all of them— making cracks about how they dress and use to much makeup.  Stuff like that."

Bundchen may be elegant on the runways but the cover girl doesn't seem to be as graceful after Tommy loses.

It sounds like the Almighty didn't see her email.