By Natalie Tran
Yesterday afternoon, the Fountain Valley High School girls’ varsity tennis team vanquished the Edison High School Chargers in a crushing defeat that ended with a final score of 11-7. After a series of nail-biting matches that required strong efforts from all of the team, the team was able to kick off their season with high hopes and spirits.
The match began with uneasiness as conditions weren’t looking so good for the Barons. The weather was gloomy and windy and two members of the team couldn’t play due to injuries. However, there was a smidge of hope since the Barons were able to outlast Edison in their last match.
“After beating Edison in our preseason match, the team felt very confident that we could start the first match of the season strong and win,” singles No. 1 senior Jasmine Nguyen said. “[However] we were nervous about dropping some games because we had two injured players.”
Opening with singles, senior Nguyen displayed her outstanding skills as she secured wins of 6-1 and 6-0 in her singles No. 1 match. Singles No. 2 freshman Sophie Vu beat her opponent 6-4 in one of her sets. It all came down to Hoang to secure the Barons a total win. In a hard-fought match, Hoang emerged victorious, claiming scores of 6-2 and 6-2 in the singles No. 3 match.
“I am extremely happy with the outcome of my matches. Even though I played singles matches, I felt that the energy from my other singles players helped push me through and win two sets,” Nguyen said. “Given our preseason performances up to now, I feel hopeful that the rest of the season will be a memorable one for this team. If anything, this match against Edison showed us that our team is well-rounded and capable.”
As for doubles, senior captain Kaylee Tran and her partner, junior Emily Tran, displayed a great amount of chemistry as they worked well together to overthrow their opponents in the Doubles No. 1 match, ending with straight sets of 6-0. Doubles No. 2 seniors Christy Chau and Paige Ngo also brought home a win for the team, achieving two wins of 6-4 and 6-0. Doubles No. 3 junior Caitlyn Nguyen, who subbed in for sophomore Iris Chau due to her injury, worked with senior Skylar Ngo. They obtained a 6-3 win in one of their sets.
“I think that all three of my matches went pretty well today since Kaylee and I managed to hit some good serves and volleys,” Emily Tran said. “I’m excited for the rest of the season because I know that our team will do well against other schools. Our victory against Edison today definitely proved that.”
Assistant Coach Vivek Sivsani was impressed and proud of the girls’ efforts today.
“I think our girls really played with their full effort; the conditions were a little hard especially with the wind but we did well to win the close sets. It’s never easy when our players are already tired but they have that mental strength to keep going,” Savsani said. “I feel very optimistic about the rest of the season. We have a golden opportunity to win our league with our depth in both singles and doubles.”
