Girls’ Tennis Sweeps NMH Without a Sweat, 9-0

Girls' varsity tennis played their first official game of the season Saturday against Northfield Mount Hermon and completely dominated on the court out in the beautiful weather. The girls shut out NMH, 9-0. The season could not have started any better.This is not the girls' first full match though; they have played two scrimmage matches against Middlesex School and Governors Academy, both ending in unofficial victories for Big Red. Last year, the girls ended with a record of 3-4, which they hope to beat this year. After winning in every event they have had this year, Exeter girls’ tennis appears to easily be able to accomplish their goal.In tennis, a complete shut out is very hard to come by, so the girls were pumped to have started their season so well. "Our team was just more prepared and had a stronger performance than they did. Everything went really well, and everyone won their matches," lower Michelle Bosché said. The girls have been working very hard in practice and their effort paid off on Saturday.The girls also have a great team dynamic, which has played into their fantastic performances. "We like each other, so were supportive and pump each other up. When we’re all done with our matches we watch each other's. It's really nice. Were a fun group of girls," upper Helen Edwards said.This positive dynamic and friendship amongst the players helped because two key players were missing on Saturday and couldn't play. This meant that the team had to adapt to the less than ideal circumstances and play their doubles matches without their usual partner that they practice with daily. Amazingly, they were able to pull off these last minutes switches with few flaws, although the team's singles matches overall went much better.There have been a few injuries and illnesses of players already this season. Upper Callan Malone has been out sick for the first few matches and won't be able to return to practicing for another few weeks. "Callan has been sick and we miss her so much, were excited for her to be healthy again, so we can have a full team again," Edwards said.Lower Taylor Jean-Jacques also sustained an eye related injury a week ago, but pleasantly surprised everyone by being able to bounce back quickly and play in Saturday's match. She was a great asset to the team and contributed to their win. Edwards said that is was great to have her back in the game.Even though this match against NMH ended up going really well for everyone, the girls still see room for improvement. They need to work on their doubles game, as their doubles matches were much closer than their singles matches. This skill will come only with practice and the girls are looking forward to some hard practices to improve. Bosché also said that they need to work on their serves and consistency of serves.The girls’ next game will be against Tabor Academy this Saturday. They hope to play with the same stellar performance as they did last Saturday.