Senior Aozora Ito serves the ball as her doubles partner senior Sharon Chen waits for the return anxiously. Photo by Vivian LeBy Vivian Yenson, Staff Writer
On Monday, the girls varsity tennis team fought hard during their last preseason match against Beckman High School but unfortunately lost with a score of 4-14. Their no. 1 singles player, senior Hanh Pham, sat out on the sidelines due to an ankle injury, which caused a slight shift in the singles lineup.
“I think that yesterday’s game was one of the tougher matches the team has faced in general. It might’ve been a loss, but it’s definitely prepared us to become stronger physically and mentally for the matches to come,” said senior Victoria Nguyen, co-captain of the varsity team.
Pham’s injury proved detrimental to the team as the girls were unable to win any games in the first round and lost overall in a landslide. Singles player, Vikki Nguyen, and doubles team, junior Ivy Tran and freshman Kaylee Tran, each won one game. Meanwhile, doubles team, seniors Sharon Chen and Aozora Ito, won two out of the three matches.
However, even after their defeat, the team’s determination to do well this season is unwavered as they prepare for the season to start. Their coach, Harshul Patel, has played an active role in making sure that the girls are confident and consistent in their plays throughout this upcoming season.
“Coach Patel has been motivating us and doing lots of drills during practice to ensure that we’re ready for the season. I’m a little bit nervous going into the actual season, but I know that Beckman is a really good team so this preseason match was good practice. We’ll learn from our weaknesses in this last match in order to become even stronger and better for our upcoming season matches,” said Ivy Tran.
The team’s next game will be against the Chargers at Edison High School on Thursday at 3 p.m.
