The girls varisty tennis team is showing promise with a 4-1 division record. The new season brought plenty of changes, including their first year with an assistant coach, and the loss of seniors Irene Lao, Paula Deguzman and Grace Hahm. Four year player and senior, Grace Han, believes that these new changes will not affect the team’s performance.
“Since this is my last year, what I want is to end on a good note and be successful, but I still want to make sure that we stay bonded as a team,” Han said. “I feel that this year we have really worked hard and practiced enough to be a stronger team this season, and our coach has helped us in that.”
Head coach Ross White has held the tennis team under his wing for over eight seasons.
“What I expect from this year’s team is to really shine in the division and be confident in their skill, because they are indeed a very skilled team,” White said.
Among the team’s members are seniors Jenise Ebanks, Juliana Atabong and Victoria Ng.
“I really do love my girls and am really proud of them; they are a very strong team that will not give up,” White said.
White also coaches the boys tennis team and has been coaching Springbrook tennis for over 10 years.
“It isn’t hard for me at all to separate the guys coach from the girls coach; when I’m involved in either season I stay focused in that season,” Ross said.
Having the loss of last year’s seniors on their back, it would seem as though this season finding leadership would serve as a complication, but it has been a complete opposite.
“A lot of us have helped out the younger players and support each other because it’s our senior year and we have to show leadership,” Han said.
Last season’s record ended at 4-8, losing to B-CC and Blair early in the season, the team has made a huge turn around. Recently the team lost against Clarksburg in a very intense match. Both teams were undefeated in the division and the Blue Devils lost 4-3. With many back to back matches, the team has to stay positive and have good leadership.
“One of the many things I can say about this team is that they never give up. Yes, they do get a little down on themselves but they always pull it together and play hard in every match,” White said. The Blue Devils came back from a tough match with a win for the team, winning 5-2 against Gaithersburg, making them second in their division.
The captains for the tennis team this season are seniors Victoria Ng and Grace Han. Both girls are four year players and are starters.
There is a fresh look to the team as players who competed in doubles last year are now compteing in more intense singles matches. The new singles players in Han and Ng have had to adjust to a higher level of play in where serves are faster and fitness is more vital to win.
The team is now looking towarsds the end of the season where all singles and doubles players will compete in county play against the top players from division one, two and three. Players will then move on to regionals.
The singles players have been able to fluster many of their opponents with consisitent play off the ground along with minimal unforced errors. This type of play is commonly found in high school tennis where most of the points are played with large amounts to topspin and macthes are usaully determined by consistency.
The players also have been able to focus on their own individual matches knowing that there is strong play from all positions on the roster due to the fact that in these matches the team score is how the winner is determined.