Girl’s Tennis: Champions of the Court

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Sierra Bonn, Staff Writer/ Copy Editor

On Tuesday, Nov. 14, Vista del Lago High School girls’ tennis team made history by winning their section championships. However, beneath the statistics are the players who worked hard for the results.

Any kind of team has to come together and work to get good results–this is no secret. But it is a harder task to accomplish than one may realize. People may work well together, but never bond. The girls’ tennis team is incredibly close to each other, and this gives them an advantage.

“We’re really close friends and everyone is so nice,” said freshman Jillian Baker. The team consists of all grade levels which makes the feat of a good relationship even more impressive.

Baker’s favorite memory of the season was the moment she realized they won the playoffs. The hard work of the team paid off which was an amazing feeling for both her and the team.  

However, for Baker there was a slight downfall in this moment. She had lost her match, and even though her team was elated at the win, she still felt disappointed. “I was kind of disappointed in myself for not carrying my weight,” Baker said.

She felt as though she had let her team down even though they still won as a team. Tennis is a team sport, so winning and losing happens as a team; yet because of the tight connection Baker felt with her team, she was still concerned about failing them.

Being a freshman, Baker has three more seasons to continue playing for Vista. She hopes to have fun next season but knows the expectation of the team will be much higher after this season’s win.

For the two seniors on the team, Reagan Martell and Sara Howlett, the win takes on a different meaning. Both of them will not play in college and this was their last game with a team. Although they did claim they may be playing tennis recreationally in the future, there’s something that will never be the same.

Martell’s favorite memory of this season was winning the section championship. She won her singles match, which she says is a good way to end her tennis career. When the team officially won, the realization hit her a few minutes behind schedule. “When I won I was super happy, because I knew that was going to be my last time winning tennis ever in my whole entire life,” Martell said.

This particular season meant more to Martell because it was her last year. She worked harder and put in more effort than she had in previous seasons. She took it more seriously because she wanted to achieve more, and she succeeded.

Howlett favored the bus rides to away games. “Always when we went to different schools or had away matches the ride on the bus back home, or to the game, we would always be really close to each other. No one would spread out, and we would just bond through that,” said Howlett. The team is definitely something she will miss.

Like Martell, Howlett had won her own match and was waiting for the team to finish all their matches. During the last three matches, everyone knew Vista had won but they had to continue to wait until the end. This succeeded in building the suspense and delaying the realization time. According to Howlett, the team didn’t really comprehend their win until they were at the team dinner.

“I was able to end my season on a good note, and be able to move forward,” Howlett said. It’s safe to say Martell would agree.