Girls tennis season has started. With practices starting after school Monday, both players and coaches are excited for the season ahead. Coming off of a successful 2023 season, the team has big goals for 2024.
“We grew a lot as a team last year,” head coach Matthew Riley said, “We bonded really well, overcame adversity and ended up with the most wins we’ve had here in eight years.”
The girls have enjoyed the warmer weather these past couple of days. They practice outdoors on the newly-constructed tennis courts almost every day after school.
“Our first practices have gone really well,” Riley said, “There’s been great effort and participation and the weather has been awesome.”
Looking ahead, the team has big goals for this season. Specifically, the new freshman class is bringing lots of excitement and hope to the program.
“We’ve got some really exciting freshmen coming in, like Annie Robinson, Lillian Harvey and Sonali Guttikonda that will all help contribute to varsity,” Riley said.
In addition, the girls tennis team also has a strong group of returning upperclassmen athletes who will help the team.
“Junior Emelyn Harris and sophomore Brooke Ratcliff are two of the strongest singles players in the state,” Riley said, “Senior Caroline Robinson is a returning member of the state finals in doubles.”
Girls tennis has big aspirations as a team, but tennis also has individual aspects. In order to best contribute to the team, athletes also set personal goals for the season ahead.
“I want to play the best I can this season,” freshman Sonali Guttikonda said, “I want to try my best and move higher up in the lineup.”
The girls are working to achieve these goals by putting in effort during practices and perfecting their technical skills.
“In a typical practice we work on the skills you need to have in a match, like forehands and backhands. I am just always trying to put in 100% in order to improve,” Guttikonda said.
Although the team wants to work hard towards success again this season, they are also putting a large emphasis on being a good teammate and making the season enjoyable for everyone.
“The team’s goal this season is to continue becoming better teammates, to continue having a good attitude even when things aren’t going well and to have fun. Success will follow,” Riley said.
