As fall sports are soon to come to a close, the girls’ tennis team puts away their rackets for the season. The junior varsity and varsity team have worked incredibly hard, with their season starting in mid-August and finishing up in late September with the WPIAL section single and doubles.
Junior varsity has finished their season with a 1-7-2 as of Wednesday, September 27th and have had multiple personal wins throughout the season. Varsity has a relatively even number of wins to losses, with a 5-4 distribution.
The seniors on the team this year include Victoria Jacobs, Julia Umshares, Sydney McWreath and Rebekah Jones. The varsity coach for 2023-24 year is Mr. Stoner, and Mrs. Merich is the coach for junior varsity.
To some, tennis seems to be an easy sport. Behind the scenes, these girls spend so much time and effort to perfect their skills on the court. From practices everyday to leaving school early to compete in matches, the girls are expected to know how to navigate their way around the game.
“I learned how to communicate with other people and to never give up,” Freshman Vittoria Emerich comments.
The team has vastly improved over the course of the season, especially the junior varsity team. Most girls on JV are brand new to the sport and have had to spend their season learning the basics and strategies that are vital to playing tennis. Varsity has also done well this season. Not only have they improved significantly, but they have won 5 matches so far.
Tennis is not always just a sport; sometimes it’s an open door to important life lessons. It gives its athletes insight on how to act in the real world. They learn important takeaways such as communication, good sportsmanship, and motivation.
“I learned how to be a team player and how to dedicate myself to goals throughout the season.” McWreath states.
Tennis is also a sport that can be played for a long time. Whether playing for fun or competitively, all that is needed is a court to play on, a racket, a ball and a friend.
Students interested in trying out for tennis next season can reach out to Mrs. Merich at emerich@trinityhillers.net
“It’s such a nice sport and a really nice group of girls. Tennis is something you can do forever,” Merich shares.
