The fall athletes are in session and girls tennis played their first conference game on Sep. 19 at Niles West against the Maine West Warriors. The team ended the day with wins on all seven courts, and although the Wolves held their ground through the matches, they have things they would like to work on and many matches ahead of them.
Head varsity tennis coach and ELL teacher Brad Wilson was happy with the first conference win and is looking forward to the rest of the season and upcoming events. Wilson is pleased with how the team played and comments on the improvement from earlier in the season.
“The match against Maine West went great, our players played well, and we moved at the net well in doubles which we’ve been working on so there is some definite improvement in that. A number of our girls did comment on how their footwork had improved, it was good to hear that our players are noticing the improvement. One main thing we do want to improve on is sustaining their effort through the match, starting strong and maintaining that effort throughout,” Wilson said.
Assistant Varsity tennis coach and counselor Ben Grais is excited about their win and pleased with the outcome of the season. He refers to the team motto and wants to make sure the team has a successful season and continue to improve.
“Our team motto is “The Time Is Now” and it is something we have really been preaching because we want everyone to put one hundred percent on the court whether is practice or a match. Remembering to leave it all on the court, win or lose the goal is to give everything you got. I’m always sad when the season ends but we are looking forward to continuing to get better,” Grais said.
On one of the seven courts the Wolves were competing on junior Rachel George played doubles with her partner, sophomore, Raia Sofia Dimaculangan. Playing with a partner can be difficult but Georges and Dimaculangan worked together to earn their win on court 2.
“I think we did pretty well. We could have hit our serves more consistently, but overall I’m happy with how we played. I do believe we won as a team so I think that speaks for itself. Everyone said they were pretty happy with how they played,” Georges said.
Being an athlete can be tough and it can be hard not to criticize yourself. Georges has goals she wants to work on for the rest of the season one of them being less hard on herself.
“For the rest of the season, I think I can work on consistency more than anything. I’m looking forward to being happy with my game. It’s really hard not to pick apart everything after you play, and to a certain point it’s healthy to think about feedback for yourself. But mentally, I want to be more present and figure out how to make my mental game stronger,” Georges said.
The team had a great first conference win and West is excited to see how the rest of their season goes. Make sure to go out to the courts to support the girls’ tennis games. We wish the team good luck on the rest of their conference games!
