Girls varsity tennis (GVT) narrowly lost 3-2 to the Arlington Spyponders for their last game of the regular season on Tuesday, May 20, at the Waldstein courts.
On a cold and windy May afternoon, the Warriors and Spyponders went back and forth on games until the fifth decider. The players also celebrated the contributions of their three graduating seniors with balloons, gifts and messages of thanks at their last regular match of the season.
Despite the overall team loss, the GVT team has already qualified for states, and individual players won competitive matches. Freshman Nina Ghael started this year on the team. Ghael plays third singles and delivered the Warriors’ first win of the evening in two sets, one and one. She said her goal in this match was to hit strategic shots.
“I did a lot of drop shots,” Ghael said. “I think more placement over power was better in this game. I think sometimes I go more power over placement, but placement over power was better here. And I think just staying really focused in general because tennis is really a mental sport.”
Senior and captain Riley Ament plays second singles and won her last match for the team in two sets. Ament said she had to refocus at a few pivotal points in the match.
“I think this was also a bit of a mental match because I was up 3-0 in the first set, then it was 3 all, so I had to reset there. In the second set, I won two games pretty easily, then lost two games pretty quickly, so I also had to reset there so I could close the match out,” Ament said.
Ament battled hard and said she had to focus on playing the backhand of her left-handed opponent.
“I had to stay focused on my game and make sure I was hitting my shots because she was a good player. She was able to put balls away. I was focusing on hitting to her backhand a lot because she was a lefty, so I was trying to be strategic with that,” Ament said. “She was pretty consistent, so I was just trying to move her around side to side so that she would eventually miss, or just give me a short ball that I could put away.”
The fifth deciding match was played by senior and co-captain Esther Wang. Wang played first singles, and lost the first set narrowly 7-6, before coming back to win the second set 6-4. Although she eventually lost the third set, Wang battled hard for over two hours.
Sophomore and doubles player Heather Kim said she admired the effort her teammates put in on the court.
“The team is very supportive of each other. Our cheering might not be the loudest, but it’s the most reassuring thing to have on court,” Kim said. “Esther was amazing, not giving up even after the game stretched on and she had to move courts. And Riley, Nina, and all of the varsity players played with genuine passion.”
Despite the loss, Ament said she thought the team played great. She also said she was especially happy that she won her last match on the GVT team.
“This team has been a part of my life for so long. I started playing varsity as a freshman, and I’ve had so many matches here, and I can’t believe this is my last one,” Ament said. “But I’m happy this one went how it did.”
