Despite their inexperience, the tennis team began their season showing determination and unity.
“We have a very young team this season, having lost all six of our starters from last year’s team. Our focus this year is more on improving as athletes and as tennis players, and less on external results such as won-lost record,” coach Marc Weinstein said.
With an overall record of 1-1 after recovering from their loss to San Francisco City College, they came back to beat Diablo Valley College 5-4 on Feb. 13 with two defaults from the other team.
Junior Alexa Franz took a hard loss to the number one player from Diablo.
After losing the first set 6-1, she made a comeback to win the second but ended up falling short in the third.
Fellow doubles partner Shirley McLaughlin stayed undefeated in her singles record beating her opponent 7-5, 6-1.
Despite losing their first match on Feb. 4 to San Francisco, they showed not only composure but took a lot away from the match besides the loss, according to players.
Sophomore Britt Card reflected on the match as a learning experience for her after playing her first college match.
“I learned more about the mental game today. I need to work on figuring out how to move on the court and I’ll get more experience the more games I play,” she said.
Franz and her partner McLaughlin won one of the three doubles matches beating the opposing team 7-6, 6-2.
“The girls on the team get along really well. Everyone is so positive and we have all improved so much this semester,” said Franz.
Weinstein also noticed the positive attitude of the team that is forming early on in the season.
“We are a fun and cohesive group that enjoys playing and hanging together, and the hard work we are doing is helping to build team chemistry,” he said.
Weinstein hopes the team will work hard and hopefully win a couple of tough matches; he is also focused on strengthening the team for next season as well.
“We are running on the track as a team twice weekly and have already had tangible improvement in overall fitness. This improvement, coupled with improving technical skills from a good work ethic during practice, bodes well for the team in the future,” Weinstein said.
This weekend the team will be headed to Los Angeles to play against La Sierra University and Cal Tech. They will also go to South Carolina for games over spring break.
