By Natalie Tran
The Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) girls’ varsity tennis clinched a home win over the Valencia Tigers this afternoon. The team started and finished strong with a final score of 17-1, reinforcing their continued success this season.
Going into the match with pent-up anxiousness from never having played against the Tigers before, the Lady Barons didn’t expect so much of a win today. And with the windy weather, things didn’t look so great at first.
“We were a little bit nervous because we’ve never played Valencia before so we didn’t know whether they were good, bad or in between,” senior captain Kaylee Tran said. “ I think we all had a bit of apprehension just not knowing how well our opponent plays, but I’m really glad that we came in with a fighting mindset.”
Playing three singles matches and three doubles matches, the girls managed to outlast their opponents in all of their sets. Singles No. 1 junior Nghi Trinh obtained straight-set victories with scores of 6-2, 6-1 and 6-1. Additionally, senior Tiffany Hoang won the No. 3 singles match 6-1, 6-3 and 6-1. Singles No. 2 senior Jasmine Nguyen had a slight falter in her first set with 6-7 but picked herself up in rounds two and three with scores of 6-2 and 6-3.
“I was pretty excited going into the game despite having never played Valencia before,” senior Skylar Ngo said. “I feel like Iris and I played pretty well. We both had our serves in and we both hit some pretty good groundstrokes.”
As for doubles, Skylar Ngo and sophomore Iris Chau teamed up to win the No. 3 match, resulting in scores of 6-1, 6-3 and 6-1. And Doubles No. 1, comprised of Kaylee Tran and her partner, junior Emily Tran, succeeded with scores of 6-2, 6-2 and 6-1. Doubles No. 2 seniors Christy Chau and her partner Paige Ngo also collected doubles victories, winning their three-set match. Overall, it was a good day for both FVHS girls’ singles and doubles.
“Today’s game featured an absolute brilliant performance from everybody, from singles to doubles,” head coach Harshul Patel said. “I didn’t expect to do this well but our Lady Barons played outstanding tennis. I’m very proud of them.”
Having defeated the Valencia Tigers, the Lady Barons are definitely ready for their next match of the season, a double header against the Crean Lutheran Saints taking place tomorrow, Wednesday, March 24.
