With the return of No. 1 singles player senior Monica Stratakos, who was sidelined with an ankle injury for 18 days, the team was able to etch out a 4-3 home victory on Oct. 23 over longtime rival Monta Vista, currently the first-place team in the league.
It was a welcome win for the team. The eventual triumph against a strong rival helped re-energize the Falcons with a satisfying match to close out what has been a hard year.
“The whole team was there, and we were a lot more motivated to stay focused throughout the whole match,” No. 3 douples player senior Sanya Kwatra said. “It was a great way to finish off this season.”
The team lost its final regular season match to Homestead 4-3 on Oct. 21 but scraped past Los Gatos 4-3 on Oct. 17. The team also fell to Mountain View 5-2 on Oct. 15. The Falcons’ final season record was 7-6.
Having been ranked second to last in the league just a couple weeks earlier, the Falcons were able to work their way back up to fourth in the league. Although this standing is not as strong as previous years when the team consistently placed second, it was enough to get the team a spot in CCS.
“I think we are just really happy that we made CCS,” No. 1 doubles player senior Vivian Lin said. “Things didn’t really work out in our favor this season, but we all worked hard and are still optimistic about making a statement in the competition.”
The Falcons look forward to competing in CCS, which is slated to kick off on Nov. 11. The location and bracket of the tournament is yet to be announced.
“Going into CCS I’m not sure what to expect because to be honest, we didn’t think we were going to make it,” No. 2 doubles player junior Aindri Patra said. “We were a bit worried initially, but now we have our full lineup back again so it should be better.”
Reflecting on their league performance, the girls say that there are things the team needs to learn before entering CCS, such as honing their doubles skills. Keeping their fingers crossed for no more injuries, illnesses and bad days, the team remains serious, hoping for increased focus in future critical matches.
“All of our matches have been way too close for any of us to really be happy with the win, knowing that we could’ve done better,” Patra said. “We’ve tried to help this through better practices; we’ll be continuing the same until CCS.”
