Senior Emil Erickson hits a volley.
A lack of players proved to be fatal for the tennis team, causing them to lose their first match of the season on Feb. 28 against Forest Lake Christian School at Forest Lake.
Sophomore Michaela Chen was the only player to win her match. Sophomore Allison Zhang, senior Emil Erickson and senior Christian Van Vleck also competed.
Due to the small number of players, the team did not compete in any doubles matches.
Chen won her match, 6-4, 6-2.
“The best part of my play was how persistent I was,” Chen said. “When my opponent hit the ball in difficult spots, I chased it whether or not I could make it.”
Chen also attributed her win to a strong forehand stroke.
However, she said that she still needs to work on her serves and backhand strokes.
Erickson lost his match (4-6, 7-5, 2-6). He said that his opponent played well.
Sophomore Michaela Chen waits for her opponent to serve.
“He didn’t hit very hard, but he kept dropshotting me,” Erickson said.
He said that the team as a whole did all right.
“We played hard and stayed in our matches until the end,” Erickson said.
He said that their biggest problem was that they were missing some of their most valuable players, including junior Nico Burns, who was ill.
Junior Zihao Sui and sophomores Chardonnay Needler and Jacqueline Chao were also missing.
Erickson also said that players need to be more accurate.
“We need to keep all of our shots in. It is more important to be consistent than to hit hard and hit the ball out,” Erickson said.
Zhang, who lost her match (1-6, 1-6), said that her loss was partially due to the lack of players.
“I was on the team last year, but I always played with Jacqueline Chao,” Zhang said. “This time, since only four of us went, I had to play singles, which I wasn’t used to.”
She also said that she needs to make her serves more powerful, as well as improve on returning serves.
Zhang said that another reason for the team’s loss was that this match was unusually early in the season. Before the game, they had had only two practices.
Zhang’s father was the game’s only spectator.
The team next faces Highlands High School on Tuesday, March 7, at 3 p.m. at Rio Del Oro.
—By Anna Frankel
