As the Varsity Girls Tennis Team finishes up the 2019 season, they take a look back on all the ups and downs that lead to their success, and all the achievements they made this year.

   Senior Lexi Jackson explained, “The season went well, better than last year. Everyone on the team overall has improved since last year. The next year’s Tennis Team will do great. They’ll keep winning matches, going up divisions, and there are even going to be new kids joining the team too.”

   The team made several improvements as a team, and individually, in order to be as prosperous as they were, including bonding as a team. Many had positive things to say about fellow teammates Sophomore Jasmine Nguyen and Sophomore Aitana Allen-Perez. “Jasmine improved a lot on her serves. She has strong ground strokes. She made it onto varsity her first year of playing, and she has really improved overall,” said Girls Team Manager Ethan George. Jackson added, “Jasmine improved her ground strokes, and Allen-Perez is good with her stamina. She can run down all the shots the opponent throws at her.”

  Junior Kaitlyn Lov-Troung and Sophomore Cissy Letter are some other athletes who have performed exceptionally well in singles play. “Kaitlyn, number one in singles, has maintained her position all year. Cissy, number two in singles, has improved quite a bit, moving her way into the number two position,” said Head Coach Joe Briese. Brise noted that the doubles have also been putting in work to help create success during the season. “Junior Jamee Newman and Senior Lexi Peterson worked really well together.” Briese concluded that there were most certainly ups and downs throughout the season, but proceed to battle through. 

   Letter expanded on her thoughts towards her personal season saying, “I feel like I did pretty well. I improved from last year, since I didn’t play singles at all before this season, and now I’m the number two. The season went pretty well. We moved up a Division and in League, which I felt was a good challenge for the team.” 

   Before-game rituals seemed to be a key concept for Senior Team Captain Kassy Ortiz. Ortiz explained how the team received pep talks from Briese.

     “During a match, we chanted for the player, spelling out his or her name, and sometimes, as team captain, I stepped in and gave pieces of advice and strategy to the players in place of coach,” Ortiz continued.

   As for the enthusiasm and spirit of the team, Briese stated, “The Girls Tennis Team has shown that they really want to support each other, even in the individual girls tournaments. When there are only four players who haven’t dropped out of the tournament there are still nine other players watching and supporting them from the sidelines.”