Girls’ tennis unable to move up a league despite successful season

The team lines up parallel to Wilcox at home for introductions on Oct. 17. They won six out of seven of their matches.

The girls’ tennis team is winning the majority of their matches despite having the minimum number of players on their roster.

After winning 8 of their last 10 matches, the girls’ varsity tennis team are in second place in the El Camino League with a 8-2 record as of Oct. 20.

Despite this, the Falcons will not move up to the De Anza league as they hoped at the beginning of the season. Due to their 6-1 and 7-0 losses against Lynbrook on Oct. 10 and Sept. 19, respectively, Lynbrook will be the team to earn advancement. Nevertheless, senior captain Nancy Lei said that the team is pleased with their overall league results.

Losing key veterans like Class of 2023 alumna Arshi Chawla resulted in the team lacking upperclassmen leadership. As the season progressed, however, Lei and junior co-captain Natalie Poon adjusted to their positions and filled the roles of the graduated seniors.

After 7-0 victories over both Wilcox at home on Oct. 17 and Milpitas away on Oct. 19, the team had two games left in the season: home games against Gunn on Oct. 24 and Fremont on Oct. 26.

These consistent wins have given players such as singles No. 1 sophomore Mihika Singh newfound confidence in her game.

Singh was initially unsure of her capability to play in the top spot early in the season, but she rose to the occasion. When playing Lynbrook for the first time, Singh lost both sets 6-0 and 6-1. She improved her game and took a 3-0 lead the second time, making her opponent forfeit. Due to such positive results, Singh said she sees this season as a success and hopes to continue adding more aspects to her match play.

“We all improved so much this season and even though we were slightly beaten by Lynbrook, I think everyone should be proud of how they played,” Singh said.

Captain Nancy Lei, the sole senior on the team, has only a few more matches before the end of her last season. As a result, members are excited to go all out making posters for her senior night at home against Fremont on Oct. 26.

“We’re planning on making the costumes ourselves,” sophomore Lily Nickerson said before the event. “It’ll be a really fun experience and a great chance for the team to bond.”