Girls Varsity Tennis Take Their First Two Wins of the Season

By: Sydney Brammer

Wednesday, April 7th, 2021 at 3:00 PM girls Varsity tennis challenged Clovis High School on their opponent’s courts and took their first win of the season (pre-season) with an overall score of 7-2. All doubles matches were won, and two out of six players lost their singles match.

Friday, April 9th, also at 3:00 PM, the girls faced Central Valley Christian (CVC) at Redwood and earned their second win in a row with a score of 8-1!

Ranked number one (Varsity), Elizabeth Gormley, ’21 lived up to her reputation winning both, her singles and doubles match against Clovis. Her singles being 6-1, 6-0, and her doubles 6-2, 6-1.

Going into her singles match, Gormley didn’t know her opponent’s style of play so she went in focusing on her own skill and to “focus specifically on hitting attack shots because in my previous matches I was playing safely, so for this match I wanted to work on being more aggressive,” she says. This paid off because she not only won but nearly didn’t get a point scored against her.

For her doubles match, she again wanted to focus on playing more aggressively towards the net. According to Gormley, she and her partner, Madelyn Adams, ’21 practiced together over Spring Break to strengthen some of their weaknesses which helped them improve and it showed during their match as they won nearly not getting scored against.

Gormley believes her strengths in both, her singles and doubles matches were her volleys and the placement of her shots. On the other hand, her weaknesses that she hopes to improve were her backhand shots.

For her Friday’s match against CVC, Gormley won her singles with a score of 6-0, 6-1 and her doubles 8-5.

Gormley knew her opponent was going to be a consistent player, so she aimed to hit deep shots and move her opponent across the court.

She and her doubles partner, Joselyn Arellano, ’23 went into their match playing as aggressively as they could since they were playing CVC’s ranked number one and two. To earn their win, they had strong volleys and communication.

Ranked number two (Varsity), Madelyn Adams, ’21 also won both, her singles and doubles match- which was with Gormley against Clovis. She won her singles in a tiebreaker, 6-0, 3-6, 10-6.

Going into the match, she wasn’t expecting it to be easy. Throughout the match, she told herself to remain relaxed as that is the key to playing consistently. Going into the tiebreaker set, Adams was nervous but really wanted to win which gave her that push to dominate.

During her doubles, Adams and Gormley played well at the net as well as the baseline. They both had solid shots which ultimately got them the win.

For her match against CVC, Adams won her singles with a whopping score of 6-0, 6-0, and her doubles 8-3.

Adams kept a relaxed swing and played aggressively which allowed her to earn such an impressive singles win. She and her doubles partner, Reese Ainley, ’22 are friends off the court, so they had great chemistry which was proven through their playing.

Ranked number three (Varsity), Sophia Degn, ’21 also gave the team another two wins against Clovis winning her singles match 6-0, 6-2, and her doubles 6-2, 6-1.

Going into her singles, Degn was nervous because she knew she could win, but knew it was going to be tough. However, going into her doubles, she wasn’t as nervous because she and her partner, Joselyn Arellano, ’23 both won their singles matches so they felt confident and were ready to win.

According to Degn, to win their match, she and Arellano communicated very well which allowed them to strategize and have good shots.

Throughout her matches, Degn believes she did well on hitting and had strong shots. However, she would like to improve on her serves.

Degn is very proud of the team for earning their first win of the season. She says, “I think it motivated me more and gives me more hope for the season and playoffs…”

Unfortunately, Degn couldn’t make the CVC match, but her team still earned the win!

Ranked number six (Varsity), Alisha Shahroz, ’21 gave the team another win against CVC winning her singles match 6-0, 6-4.

According to Shahroz, it was an easy match. She spotted her opponent’s weaknesses and used them to her advantage. Her goal for the season is to help the team win league to continue their streak.

Ranked number seven (Varsity), Ally Terrible, ’22 gave the team another win against Clovis by winning her doubles match 6-3, 7-5.

To prepare for her match, Terrible watched players from Clovis High to see their style of play, along with practicing her own serves during warm-ups.

Ranked number nine (Varsity), Brooke O’Leary, ’22 was Terrible’s partner helping them win their match.

According to O’Leary, they went into their match knowing their opponents were about the same level in skill as them but knew they could beat them.

Before any of her matches, O’Leary does her best to “hype” herself and her partner up. She says, “staying calm, cool, and collected is the way to go for a match, and keeping a good attitude helps you stay focused and ready to win.”

O’Leary says her main struggle any time playing tennis is to not get in her own head. She says, “Missing one or two points at the beginning of the match can change the whole game, so staying focused and positive is one of the biggest and hardest parts of tennis.”

According to O’Leary, she and her partner, Terrible are friends on and off the court so they have good chemistry which shows through their playing. O’Leary says Terrible is better at hitting the winner shots, while she is better at keeping it consistent and rallying with the opponents.

O’Leary is extremely happy and proud the team got their first win. She says, “this season has been a lot different, just like this past year has been. We knew we had to win the match for the team, our coach, and ourselves… I’m hoping this win boosted the whole team’s confidence and we can keep up the streak going forward.”

The girls’ Varsity coach, Matt Gong was very happy with these two wins as the team has been on a losing streak. According to him, CVC is usually one of the top teams in Visalia, so he believes his team is ready for their league matches.

Winning two matches in a row, the Girls Varsity team is very encouraged and motivated for the rest of the season as league is about to begin. Their first league match is Tuesday, April 13th against Lemoore at Lemoore at 4:00 PM. JV will play them at Redwood, also at 4:00 PM.

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