Following a promising pre-season performance, girls tennis strives to become CIF qualifiers in the 2023 season and to make the most of their time together. They will be facing off against strong teams and adjusting to a new roster, but they hope their experience playing matches against high level schools will translate to results in their regular season.
During the pre-season, the girls celebrated big wins against Bolsa Grande, Katella, and Marina. But, their most riveting games were with schools that do not play in their 605 league.
“We’ve been playing against some way higher level schools,” freshman Simran Thanki said. “But we’ve still been battling through. Sage Hill is D1, and we almost beat them 7-11.”
Although not competing against Sage Hill during the regular season, the match was a clear show of this year’s potential. The JV team won their match against Sage Hill in a convincing 18-0 sweep, leaving no question regarding their skill, either.
Like other sports, though, every new year comes with farewells to veteran varsity players and welcomes to new prospects. This year, freshmen Simran Thanki, Sruthi Desigar, Holly Hua, and Claire Choi, all new varsity players, hope to rise to the occasion and fill the shoes of departing seniors.
“I was just really excited to be a freshman on varsity, cause I know it’s really hard,” said Thanki. “[Mr. Taylor] said he was only gonna accept one freshman, maybe two, and he ended up accepting more, so me and my friends are really happy about that.”
The newest members have already proven their worth to the team, helping reach a respectable 5-4 pre-season record against schools outside of the 605 league. All four rookies are fully committed to the team and hope to continue the fight for CIF qualification.
“I have never been more impressed. The freshmen tennis players that we’ve had are the strongest group of freshmen that I can imagine we have seen in a long time.” Mr. Taylor said.
With season already underway, the team hopes to kick this season off with some early wins. They plan to stay consistent with their after-school practices and will play a home game against Whitney on the 29th and two away games against Artesia and Cerritos on the 3rd and 6th. But, no matter the outcome of their games, they are sure to cherish their new connections and make new memories that are only possible on the green and red Oxford courts.
