On Mar. 30, the girls and boys tennis teams won districts and are looking forward to regionals.
Both teams have had strong seasons so far: boys with a record of only two losses and the girls are undefeated. The boys team consists of ten players. The captains are juniors, Andre Libnic and Cole Perez-Blanco. Libnic and sophomores: Nicolas Ramirez and Christian Otero have played major roles on the team. Libnic is known for beating the hardest opponents. Ramirez and Otero are known to bring a positive attitude to the team. Sophomore alternate Billy Earle is also making his mark.
“Billy has been a big help this year. Many players have been injured this year and Billy has replaced them with strong playing,” said junior Cole Perez-Blanco.
The girls team consists of nine players. The girls’ team captain is senior Julieta Dalmau. So far this season the girls had a strong season, being undefeated. The girl’s team have a solid roster, each one of them are strong players. Many of the girls play tennis outside of school competitively and are planning to play in college.
Both teams are looking forward to competing at states.
“My expectations for the boys is that we will go to states and win. We have beatable competitors. I also believe that the girls are going to also do very well,” said junior co-capitan Andre Libnic.
The boys’ most challenging competitor over the past two years is American Heritage. Last year, the boys lost in regional finals against them. For the girls Pinecrest is most challenging, losing to them in regional finals last year as well.
The girls believe they will make it to the state championship, regardless of some weaknesses.
“All the girls are strong and play at a very high level, so no matter who the opponent is they are able to come through. The problem with many of us playing at a high level is that we compete outside of school so sometimes some of us will miss some matches for outside competition,” said senior Estefania Navarro.
Even though tennis is an individual sport both teams describe that their teams feel very united this year. The amount of players on both teams decreased from last year, but it is beneficial because they have built closer relationships with each other. Both teams became more confident after the success of winning districts and are ready for the journey ahead to regionals and states.
