October 29, 2008
DHS Women's Tennis Team Heads to the Quarter-Finals
By Nicolette Gmoser-Daskalakis
Hub Correspondent
The DHS women’s tennis team earned the title of undefeated league champions this Wednesday when they beat Sacramento’s Kennedy High School. With their 9-0 standing, DHS can now proceed to the Sac-Joaquin Quarter-Finals. If Davis gets past that challenge, they will move on to the semi-finals; one step closer to the finals.
Several DHS team members won within two sets, including No. 2 sophomore Naomi Wainwright. She beat her No. 2 Kennedy High School opponent, Stephanie Louie, 6-4 in both sets.
Afterwards, Wainwright said the match did not lack those “getting close” moments. “We had a lot of really good points when we were tied up. That’s when we were both playing our best,” she said. Indeed there were several times when the score was tied at three or four-all, but she eventually broke ahead.
Yet even when Wainwright wasn’t scoring points, she missed by mere inches. At one point, a three-all fell in Kennedy’s favor when Wainwright ran from the back of the court to the net. With an audible groan, she swung her racket, just missing the ball before it hit the court.
In the end, though, the DHS team prevailed. “[It was a] great way to end the league season,” DHS coach Paul Ochs said. “It was good to see the team improving.” Successful ends are often accompanied with bittersweet emotions too. “It’s just kind of sad [that the season is ending], I was thinking about that [while playing],” Wainwright said. Post-match, several team members chatted and laughed at nearby picnic tables. “We’re one crazy cool family,” Wainwright said.
Coach of more than thirty years, Ochs looks forward to bringing his tennis “family” to the semifinals and hopefully beyond. “Davis High is always going to have good quality tennis, [and] good quality players,” he said. “It is going to be a good, close match.”
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