The tennis team has been performing incredibly this year, boasting their record to 11-1 for the season. Noelle Olson and Ellie Coblish, both members of the Girls Varsity Tennis Team, provide insight into their practices and their goals for the season.
Practices are on Monday through Friday after school and on Saturday mornings that consist of challenge matches and tiebreakers. Challenge matches are when a player decides to challenge another player, in order to climb the rankings. These games allow them to move into the singles or doubles spots for upcoming matches.
Tiebreakers occur when players split sets(have won sets evenly). To win the tie breaking set the tiebreakers are played to 7 points, and there has to be a 2 point- margin when you win. Even though half of the girls play challenge matches, everyone is able to play a full game at the end of practice. They also get to work on drills with Coach Shaun Weiss such as volleying the tennis ball and practice different types of serves such as forehand and backhand serves, overheads, and lobs. But before they get to work practicing, the team warms up by running and stretching before they start.
The team additionally prepares for games by holding practice matches between singles and doubles.Singles are one player vs the other opposing player while doubles are two players vs the other two opposing players.
“You can get in your head while playing in a match and get frustrated, so staying calm is really important,” Olson and Coblish explain the hardest part about matches is the mental aspect.
“Making adjustments so that players can find the weakness in their opponent and try to take advantage of it,” Coach Weiss states the hardest part about matches.
Olson and Coblish’s favorite thing about being part of the tennis team is the fact that they always have fun, even when the matches are tough. They also like how they get to bring food to the matches. For Coach Weiss, his favorite thing about being a part of the team is getting to watch his players develop into even better players.
Some of the goals for the team this season is to be a top three team in the county and be competitive in every match as they give their best effort in their matches. They are constantly working and practicing their skills so they can win counties and regionals.
Coach Weiss is looking forward to seeing his returning players improve and seeing more improvement throughout the season. Olson and Coblish can’t wait to play their last year with seniors.
Overall, the team’s work ethic has pushed them to a winning record. Hopefully, their hard work pays off in the upcoming tennis tournaments. Best of luck to the team.
