The girls varsity tennis team lost to the Wellesley Raiders 4-1 on Wednesday, May 13, at the Waldstein Courts in Dean Park. The game was threatened by rain, which was forecast to continue from earlier that day through the game. The final home game of the season was also senior day. There were also exhibition games between both teams’ JV squads.
Head coach Keith Carson began coaching at the high school four years ago, when the seniors were freshmen, and he said this was a symbolic event for both him and the seniors.
“I’ve seen how far [the seniors have] come, how good they’ve become since they were freshmen,” Carson said. “[Today] they were all playing really good, solid tennis, and not just good technique, but really strategically playing good tennis, which is really impressive.”
In the first singles match, freshman Cassandra Olszewski fought hard but fell behind early and ultimately lost 3-8.
The Raiders were predicted to beat the Warriors, but Olszewski said she wasn’t deterred.
“I know I’m gonna be challenged, so I don’t really expect to win. But I try my best, try to focus on one thing to improve and feel [the opponent] out, because every player always has a weakness, and you need to find it,” Olszewski said.
In the second singles match, senior and captain May Gardner lost to the Raiders 0-8. In the third singles match, sophomore Ellen Kirakosyan lost to the Raiders 1-8 after a long fight. In the second doubles match, senior and captain Hallie Schneider and junior Molly Boshell lost their match 3-8.
Sophomore Nina Ghael and freshman Talia Chin won their doubles match against the top-ranked doubles squad in the division 8-5.
When the two pairs went against each other earlier in the season, Ghael and Chin lost, but according to Ghael, focusing on strengthening their weaknesses let them pull through this time.
“Last time we played this team, we were really getting beaten at the net, and since then, we have had a lot of practices where we were working on our volleys,” Ghael said. “So this time, we were a lot more aggressive up there, and that gave us an advantage in the important games.”
The rain was a difficult constraint for the game. It had rained before the match started, and there was a chance that it might rain again. Because of the impending rain, both coaches decided to switch to 8-game pro sets, where matches are decided by whoever wins eight games first instead of the traditional three sets of six games format. This choice was made to make the matches run more quickly.
According to Carson, the rain that was already on the courts was worrying. If the teams were unable to play the game at Waldstein Courts, it would have had to be rescheduled, which would have been difficult with the end of the season being just around the corner.
“At [1 p.m.], I came to the courts, and they were completely wet. I was pretty sure the match was not gonna be played today. I came over at [2 p.m.], and the courts were drier. I worked with brooms and leaf blowers to dry them out, and we were successful in getting the courts [dry],” Carson said.
Carson also said Ghael and Chin winning their match against the Raiders was emblematic of things to come.
“[Ghael and Chin’s win] was a big win for us. They’re a freshman and a sophomore,” Carson said. “I would say the theme of this team is that the future looks really strong.”
