The relaxing, carefree days of summer sadly came to an end, and students find themselves back at school once again, adjusting to new classes and course loads. As students adjust to the new school year, the fall sports season continues full speed ahead.

Girl’s Varsity Gold Tennis is no exception as they hit the courts with intensity, looking to outwork their competition. Their season began early in August with a state team match against Mercy Mcauley High School.

They successfully advanced to the next round of the state team tournament with a 5-0 win. Their other season matches against Olentangy Liberty, Oak Hills, and Magnificat leave them with a current record of 2-2.

This year’s team also includes two freshmen, Natasha Singh and Sanjana Mahesh, both aiming to have a strong start to their high school tennis careers.  

“Being on varsity as a freshman is very different from what I expected. It is way more intense, and the expectations are very high. There is a lot of pressure to win matches, especially state team matches,” Mahesh said.

The pressure Mahesh mentions is typical for the girls, but they collectively implement strategies that can help them to overcome tight matches.

“We have been emphasizing how important it is to be tough on the court and stay focused during the match. Since we are rebuilding our team, it has been important to have strong doubles teams, so we have been working on doubles techniques and being aggressive at the net,” said Helen Sotropa, 12.

 Practices frequently involve drilling and simulating doubles points to practice such skills. Although the upcoming months carry difficult matchups, the girls remain positive.

“Looking at our state team tournament draw, the teams we play are all beatable, but it comes down to who is more focused and tougher. Right now we are focused on winning as many matches as we can, but taking it one match at a time,” Sotropa said.