MARBLEHEAD – Larry DiGiammarino and his wife Dr. Yvette Glina raised their two girls, Isabelle and Milana, to understand the importance of athletics.
Larry, a real estate attorney who lives in Marblehead, played football at MHS under Coach Alex Kulevich. During his senior year (1977-78), he led the team in receptions during an 8-2 season. While at Bates College from 1978-82, the former wide receiver set seven records and still holds four: single-game receiving touchdowns (T-4), career receiving touchdowns (17), career receptions (151) and career net yardage (2,123).
Larry also earned national accolades in ‘81 as a Kodak Little All-American.
“I think sports mirror life,” he said. “I was fortunate enough to have that award in football and have some athletic success, but with Isabelle and Milana, my wife and I felt like it was important to give them sports in a lifelong setting.
“Tennis, you can play the rest of your life. Skiing, you can do for the rest of your life. They’re pretty natural athletes, and they were able to pick up whatever was thrown at them. They sifted through what they liked and came up where they came out. We thought it was important to introduce it, and they had to find their way with which one they stuck with.”
What stuck was tennis.
Isabelle and Milana, who are in ninth and seventh grade, respectively, are starters on Austin Prep’s varsity girls tennis team, which went 11-3 this season and is coached by Chrissy Cerretani. They have also been coached by Anthony Russo, Corinthian Yacht Club’s tennis director.
Isabelle said they get better by playing together because they know how to push each other. Both Isabelle and Milana enjoy the mental challenge tennis brings.
“When you’re out there, you’re by yourself most of the time. I think it makes you realize how to push yourself more because you’re not depending on other people,” Isabelle said. “You’re kind of just depending on yourself, so when you’re out there, you kind of just want to do it for yourself. It’s very mentally challenging a lot of the time, but that’s what I really like about it.”
Cerretani said the sisters are very different players.
“Isabelle, for example, she’s really working on the full-court game. She’s a little bit older. She’s been playing a little bit longer. She’s very quick. Her strength is really her speed and her determination to run down every single ball, whereas Milana, she hits a huge ball. If the ball is in her strike zone, she’s an excellent ball striker. She can put the ball anywhere on the court that they decide to put it. They have different game styles at this point, but I think they’re both working toward a full-court strategy,” she said.
Cerretani added both players have been integral parts of the team’s success, as both have had matches this year in which individual wins captured a team victory.
“Milana, for example, the last match of the season against St. Paul, it was her doubles match that was on the line, and a seventh grader had that focus and determination to tune out any distraction and focus in on the match to win the match for the team. That just shows huge maturity.
“Likewise, for Isabelle, earlier in the year, she had to play No. 2 singles for the first time against a very tough player and decided to focus in and control the things that she can control and basically decided to find the girl’s weaknesses, exploit the weaknesses, and stay within herself in a positive way to win the match, which was exciting for her,” Cerretani said. “That’s a huge victory. Again, we’re talking about a ninth grader to have that maturity, so the fact that the two of them have that in common is extraordinary at such a young age.”
Cerretani said, “what’s really awesome about the two of them is that they’re really for each other.”
“Siblings can be tricky, but they really support each other. They look out for each other. They want each other to do well and I think because they have this attitude, they will succeed,” she said. “It’s just a pleasure to have them on the team. They’re such great role models, and they’re really good friends.”
The sisters agreed that their sibling bond has helped them on the court, and especially during preseason. Milana recalled a specific time they played well together.
“The two girls we were playing with weren’t siblings, so they didn’t know each other as well because one of them was new, I think,” Milana said. “We know how we play together, and we know how each of us plays individually, and we were hyping each other up and telling each other that we were going to win.”
“Just knowing that someone from your family is always there for you, it’s just nice because not a lot of people have that when they’re on a team,” Isabelle said.
