Alyssa Buckner

Mihaela Ursu, junior, serves the ball during her doubles match against Chaparral.

Varsity:

Among many spring sports at OHS, the girls tennis team has been preparing and working hard in order to make their season the best it can be this year.

With tough try-outs to make varsity, the girls are very grateful in order to have the opportunity to play for the OHS tennis team. 

“It was super competitive because we had a couple of underclassmen that have been playing for a lot of years come in, and [everyone was] competing with a lot of seniors that [wanted] to make varsity,” said Bailey Babb, senior. 

Despite the difficult competition, the varsity girls have grown close to one another through team bonding and trips, such as their annual trip to the Indian Wells Open tennis tournament, where they happened to face a minor setback. 

“Indian Wells was so fun, even though we did get stuck on the side of the road for five and a half hours because our bus broke down. But besides that, it was so much fun, and I loved watching all the players play,” said Aspyn Jackson, senior. 

Since finalizing their team roster, varsity girls tennis practices have been up and running for weeks in preparation for upcoming matches. 

“We have five practices a week where we work on skills that we feel like we need to work on, and then we come up with new game plans and techniques to do,” Jackson said. 

These practices have changed a bit from previous years, as the girls are adapting to what will give them the best results. 

“Something different from last year [is the practice] strategy this year, because it makes our team above everyone else. We’re really trying to work on that this year,” said Aditi Mahesh, junior. 

The tennis coaches have been a big contributing factor to the girls tennis team by providing them with the necessary tools in order to ensure victory. 

“Coach Brad is very motivational and he knows how to keep your spirits up. Especially in tennis, because it’s an individual game, you can really get down on yourself easily and not be in the mood at all,” Mahesh said. “Coach Lance is really good with strategy and seeing what works and what doesn’t.”

Before games, the girls on the tennis team do little rituals to change their mindsets in order to accomplish things in their matches. 

“I like to have 10 minutes before my games to just sit with my thoughts and think about my [upcoming] game, or what I want to work on during my match,” Mahesh said. 

All in all, the girls varsity tennis team is excited for all the matches to come, and is using their positive mindsets to help to end the season on a prosperous note.

“We have other hard schools coming up, and I think [if we win matches] the happiness and the uplifting nature we’ll feel…when we see results, because we know we’ve all worked so hard, [will be] a very good feeling,” Mahesh said. 

JV:

The JV girls tennis team has been on the same wavelength as varsity, practicing almost daily and dedicating time to their spring season. 

“We practice every single day except on Fridays, because that’s varsity-only practice. We do stations and something new every day, like hand signals for doubles, working on serves, and other stuff like that,” said Viviana Stewart, junior. 

Along with varsity, the JV girls spent a weekend at the Indian Wells Open tennis tournament; the prolonged bus stop also brought them closer together as a team.

“Those five hours didn’t feel like five hours; it maybe felt like two hours just because we were having fun with the people we were around,” said Mila Glisic, sophomore. “[Tennis is a] family and tight-knit, it’s kind of that culture that makes it fun.”

The JV girls have been working hard in order to make this season feel accomplished; their supporters and coaches have put them in the right mindset in order to do so. 

“One thing our coaches always say is ‘see your opponent, beat them down, but after the match hug them out,’ because at the end of the day they’re still people, but of course they’re our competitors first,” Glisic said. 

This season has been moving along smoothly, and the girls are ready for whatever is to be served their way. 

“I’m super excited for all the games. I can’t wait to do the hard ones and the easy ones and just go through that with my team…it’s gonna be an amazing season,” said Samantha Beutler, junior.