Girls’ Tennis Defeats Several in League, Pursues First Place Rank

KEVIN KONG
Sport Editor

Put another one in the win column for the varsity girls’ tennis team. With a 3-2 Almont League record, the Moors have been training daily in order to improve their record. The team recently played on Oct. 9 against the Montebello Oilers, overcoming them with a final score of 13-5.

“The team is strong in supporting each other. This year, we have such a mix of people and it’s great. We have seniors, juniors, a sophomore, and freshmen. We [are able to] bond over simple things like an occasional ice cream treat after practice,” junior doubles player Emily Tran said.

According to senior doubles player Monica Wu, the team has benefited from the preseason matches, with the exhibition games described to be good preparation in showing the team areas of improvement and helping the Moors gain confidence.

Several players have agreed that the main goals this year are to go to the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) playoffs and become the Almont League champions.

The girls, after placing third in the previous year, hope to achieve their goals through their daily practices, which are composed of rallying, serving, volleying, practicing ground strokes, conditioning and playing practice matches against one another. Some players have noted that the team has developed more chemistry as the season progresses.

“I think we have gotten close [throughout] the season. During the summer practices, I barely spoke at all due to shyness, but now I’m opening up and talking more. The team is like a second family to me. [They are] a group of girls who support each other,” freshman singles player Karenna Yang said.

Hoping to progress further, the Moors’ next match will be today against the Mark Keppel Aztecs, the team that gave the Moors their first loss of the season. Under the leadership of Head Coach Calvin Chow, the team is currently tied for first place in Almont League rankings and hopes to win throughout the remainder of season with a near perfect record of 6-2.

“We have a really well rounded team this year, making our lineup flexible, but still good. We want to end our season well and set the standard for next year [seeing as] we are not a team [composed only of] seniors,” Wu said.