Girls’ Tennis Team Eager to Play Matches
Finishing off last season with a 4-4 record, the girls’ tennis team looks ahead to another strong and successful season for this year. The team faced several close matches and two home losses against Groton School and Andover last year. Despite its tied record, the team scored more wins in its record compared to the previous years.
This year, the team has lost its first and fifth seed, Taylor Jean Jacques ’16 and Audrey DeGuererra ’16, respectively. Although this may pose a challenge for this year’s team, seniors Michaela Corvi and Melissa Lu remain on the team with lowers Katie Yang and Elizabeth Yang. Many new players joined both of the varsity teams, each bringing their own talents and determination to carry out a successful season.
Lower Katie Yang expects the varsity team to perform very well this season. “We [the players] have grown close, and I’m looking forward to how we perform competitively. We have many strong players, and I am excited to see how we compare to the Andover girls this year,” she said.
As co-captain with senior Divya Bade, Lu hopes to lead the team by working hard and instilling this same drive in her teammates. “My biggest hope is to help the girls reach their greatest potential on and off the courts,” she said. As well as pushing her teammates to the maximum, Lu hopes that the team forms a stronger bond. “I also hope that our team will get really close as the season progresses because while tennis can be an individual sport, our team is a team in all senses of the word. I want to be its shoulder, and I want to be its hype man,” Lu said.Co-captain Lu agreed that the team is full of talented and young players across the board, pushing the team to reach new heights during practices. “What’s really strong about this year’s team is the vitality and passion these girls have, not to mention, at the most fundamental, how talented they are. With such talent and competitiveness, practices will be intense and challenging each day, a great training ground for the team,” she said.
“What’s really strong about this year’s team is the vitality and passion these girls have, not to mention, at the most fundamental, how talented they are. With such talent and competitiveness, practices will be intense and challenging each day, a great training ground for the team.”
Over break, players took the opportunity to prepare for the season. Players trained individually, and lower Isobel Anderson, new to the team, went to Florida to train and compete in matches. As the term started off with bad weather, the team has been conditioning a lot and players have taken this as a chance to put in their best efforts, even staying after to work out more. The Varsity A team has already postponed two matches, one against Middlesex School and one against Governor’s Academy.
Even though the weather has not been in their favor, Lu is glad that the team is putting in everything in preparation for the approaching matches and the overall season. “This is a team I see bouncing back even stronger and fierce after a loss. This is a team I see thriving this season. If we keep bringing this attitude to practices and games, we’re going to go far,” she said.
With all its training, the girls’ tennis team is fired up to translate its hard work into match success. The girls will hopefully takedown Middlesex in its first match and then will prepare to face off against Northfield Mount Hermon on Apr. 15. The Exeter girls were able to beat both of these teams pretty easily last season so these first games will serve as a good warm-up.