As we make our way through the fall, sports teams are progressing through their seasons. For Girl’s Tennis, it hasn’t been a smooth road. With a record of 2-8, they’re hoping for the best with their last matches of the season ending on Oct 26.

“Our biggest problem is that a lot of the other teams are Olympic Conference. They’re more difficult [to compete against],” said Coach Michael Schuenemann.

Setting high standards for the end of season, the team is doing everything they can to prepare on and off the court. With seniors Ashley Basat, first singles and Micaela Weiserth, second singles as captains, the team is working hard. One of the team goals throughout the season has been to learn game better and to promote awareness of the tennis program among the school community.

The beginning of the season kept the girls on their toes with several matches back to back, the team relies on natural light for their matches so as the seasons change and the daylight lessens so does the amount of games. Lighting becomes an issue come October. As the team goes from about 5 games a week and tournaments to about 2 or 3 games a week and play in fewer tournaments.

There are a lot of new faces on varsity with the loss of eight senior players last year. Along with a new coach as Schuenemann has taken over for Coach Cindy Surplus.

“It’s been a little bit of a challenge,” he stated. “But I’m moving up and it’s a different experience.”

Schuenemann stepped in for Surplus two years ago while she was on maternity leave and has taken her place for the duration of the season.

“It’s different than having Surplus, but I had [Schuenemann] my sophomore year and he’s doing really well,” said Weiserth.

The new coach has had a positive influence on the team. Basat added, “he makes everything fun no matter what. We work hard, but he knows how to make sure we’re still having fun.”

Both captains agreed that it’s been a good season with its own ups and downs. It’s their last season and they are making the best of it.

“We try to stay as positive as possible because being negative doesn’t work. We want to build on our success.” continues Coach Schuenemann. He hopes to help the girls build momentum and encourage them to play in the off season so as to not lose the skills they worked hard to develop.