Women’s tennis serves Elk Grove

By Bailey Mknelly,
BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–

Rackets swinging through the charged air, heat radiating from tense bodies, sweat streaming down the faces of every player as both teams congratulate one another on solid attempts and even better successes. The women’s varsity tennis team beat Elk Grove by a devastating 9-0 on Sept. 8. All of the team’s players won their first two sets.

The team came into the match having won just as decisively, 9-0 against Monterey Trail, and this helped boost the confidence of the team.

“It sets a precedent for the rest of the season because we get to play some stronger teams next week so this is some really good practice for us to be able to get a feel for how the league season is going to go,” senior Lauren Duan said.

After losing nearly all last year’s top six players, the team came into the season a little unsure of where they stood. However, any fears were quickly quieted.

Sophomore Lillian Okamoto moved here from Hawaii and stepped right into the No. 1 position, Holmes Junior High freshmen Lyna Jiang took No. 2 and last year’s No. 1, Lauren Duan, was placed as No. 3.

The win wasn’t a surprise to anyone on the team but the extent to which they won by was exciting.

However, tennis coach Sally Hosley reminded the girls during their team meeting, “even if you’re playing a team that’s not very strong you still have to play like you’re playing Stanford.”

Although the team has declared itself winner against Elk Grove, the team will continue to focus on improving each player’s skills.

“We need to work on our doubles and return a serve, moving our feet a little bit more. Sometimes we get a little bit lax, a little bit lazy. Always something to work on, so that’s fun,” Hosley said.

“It’s good practice for our match against St. Francis next Tuesday,” Okamoto said, thrilled to take on the team’s rivals with this same confidence and strength.