Girls’ Tennis Season Ends With A Racquet

Senior+and+co-captain+Amanda+Tran+prepares+for+a+forehand.+%28Joseph+Nguyen%29

Senior and co-captain Amanda Tran prepares for a forehand. (Joseph Nguyen)

Vivian Hoang, Staff writer

Irvington’s girls’ tennis teams ended the season with a record of 8-6 for Varsity, and 9-5 for Junior Varsity. The best game of the season was the sweep of Kennedy by both Varsity and Junior Varsity on Sep. 29.  According to senior Amanda Tran, co-captain,“This year has definitely been our best year in terms of organization and team spirit, and I hope we have set a good model for future years and future captains.”

Some of the girls were recognized as some of the top players in the Mission Valley Athletic League. Sophomore Jacqueline Ngo and junior Arielle Wilson were named one of the doubles first team all-league. Junior Brianna Nguyen and sophomore Namanata Vedagarbha received honorable mention. Junior Allison Cheung was recognized as one of the second team singles all-league.

All of the Varsity team went to the postseason MVALs. Six players in total advanced to the second day of play. Junior Allison Cheung, and senior Katie Grant competed in the singles division.  Doubles teammates Shanna Le and Alice Ma, both sophomores, were joined by another team of juniors, Jackie Guillon and Rachel Castellino, in the quarterfinals. However, none of the players made it to day three of the tournament.

Nandita Potturi, a Junior Varsity singles and doubles player shared some insight of her season’s experience, “Well I did tennis for the first time this year, and I really liked how the team  [supported and motivated each other]. It helped me become more of a team player and create connections with other people in the team.”

To improve for next year, the girls’ tennis team wants to focus on keeping the competitive edge throughout the season. Junior Anjali Thacker emphasized, For next year I think as a team, we should work on setting goals for ourselves so that we can have an even better season, and work harder to help us improve our record.”