The girls varsity tennis team is 15-1 and putting their best foot forward as they head into the post-season. We caught up with the players to find out the preparation that led them this far. With a coach who pushes them to do their best and players who give it their all on every match, the team is quickly proving that hard work and teamwork can take them far.
The team put in a lot of hard work during the season, but most importantly before the season. Starting in August the team had preseason workouts three times a week leading up to the first day of practices.
Seventh grader Riley Magner and sophomore Grace Hart feel that practice makes perfect when it comes to tennis. Riley said,“Before [the] season I would just constantly train and train to get better. I usually trained everyday.
The 2025 set of 14 is a fairly new team. There are six under classmen. Two freshmen and four sophomores. While the team is new, they work well together to get as many wins as possible during the season. Senior Ana Way, one of the two team captains has been on varsity since she was in eighth grade. Her goal this season was to make sure all the younger players on the team felt included and valued. She said, “When I first joined, I was the youngest player and both of my older sisters were on the team. While everyone was kind and welcoming, I still felt disconnected at times because of the age gap and my inexperience”
“Now, I’m the one the younger players look up to, and I see it as my responsibility to make sure every new girl feels included, supported, and part of the team from day one.”
Senior captain Diana Elliott believes that the motivation comes from within. She said, “The love for the game and your teammates, especially if you play doubles, has to be strong.”
Diana believes that you need to have great communication skills when it comes to playing doubles and said, “Communication can really help motivate yourself or your partner during any match, and it keeps the pressure on while also keeping an open mind and keeping a state of calmness during high-pressure points.”
The team displays and gains positive energy in many ways, but Coach Reed believes that the biggest motivator is his 31 hour playlist filled with Taylor Swift, and more. In all seriousness, Coach Reed works on many things with the team and strives to make sure every player is “Working with others, never giving up, handling loss the right way, learning from your losses, and winning the right way.”
He continued, “Coming into this season I put even more of an emphasis on mental fortitude which has paid dividends already.”
In conclusion, this season was very successful this year and in all they have accomplished. The new team works together with a great team, captains, and coach. As the tennis team heads into the semifinals this Friday, October 24th their journey stands as a testament to resilience, teamwork, and belief in a shared goal.
