The Last Swing: An Overlook On Girls Tennis

On Saturday, November 11th, Redwoods Girls Tennis officially concluded their season. Players look back on their tennis season and share their thoughts.

By Solomon Burciaga

This past season for Girls Tennis was a great one as they went undefeated in league and they became this year’s East Yosemite League (EYL) champions. The team has a whopping total of 11 wins and Varsity is made up of only nine individuals. 

Sports on campus receive varying degrees of attention. Tennis might be one of the least noticed Redwood sports teams.

This year three Redwood Tennis players made it to the Valley Championships. The three being, Lainey Rowe, ’26, Emma Jenan, ’25, and Antonella Cardenas, ’24.

The Varsity Tennis Team has two captains, Emma Jenan and Antonella Cardenas. Cardenas fell in love with tennis as a little girl but the sport was not available in her home country of Venezuela. Once she moved to the United States, she was delighted to find out that sports were offered at this school. She says “I was like, this is pretty cool. I can play my sport at a competitive level and I loved it.” 

At the start of summer, Cardenas shares that she almost sustained an injury to her legs. She says, “ I worried I wasn’t able to play my Senior season.” She adds that luckily she was able to persevere.Cardenas as an individual had an undefeated record, and plans to continue her tennis career in College.

Currently a three-sport athlete, Lainey Rowe began her tennis journey her Freshman year, and was able to make the Varsity Team this year as a sophomore. She is currently ranked fourth on Varsity.  

Rowe says “I [fell] in love with tennis because I love how there’s so many strategies to win, and you can always have a different approach at things.” 

Both Rowe and Cardenas share a favorite moment. When they were partners and won tournament for duos tennis.

Singles and Doubles player, Noelle Keck, ’25, has been playing tennis for as long as she can remember. She shares that she started to take it seriously in middle school. She is currently seated number three on the tennis ladder. 

Keck says that she was proud of how far she went in this year’s EYL tournament. “That was a really great accomplishment for me.” 

Like most sports, a strong mental game has a role to play in tennis. Keck says “When you go out there you really need to keep a calm mindset and at first, that was really hard for me, but as the season progressed I really got a grip on that and I overcame it.”

Keck’s says that her most memorable moment this season was at the EYL tournament where she was able to beat another player who was a higher rank than her. She says that she looks forward to next year where she will “be able to make more friendships and connections with the other girls on the team”

Keck expects to improve and plans to work extra hard until tennis starts back up again. 

Redwood Counselor, Aubrey Buchanan, was this year’s Varsity Tennis Coach. This was her first year in the position. Buchanan grew up playing the sport, and she played at Redwood when she was a student. 

At the start of her coaching career, Buchanan says “The girls exceeded my expectations and I knew they were talented before I even took over as head coach.” 

Buchanan expresses the dedication that the team has. She says, “We started June 5th, so boom, summers are out and we start in 105-degree weather.”

Buchanan adds, “Monday through Friday we’re out there from 4-6, unless it’s [a game day].” She adds that on special occasions like tournaments, Buchanan herself is out on the court for over 12 hours.

Unfortunately, Aubrey Buchanan is stepping down as Varsity Coach after this year. She shares that she is expecting her baby this spring, and won’t be able to continue coaching. Buchanan says, “I do not plan to fully step away from tennis.”

She ends with saying, “I know redwood tennis will always have my heart.”

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