Girls Tennis: Swinging With High Expectations

The Blue and Gold Staff | The Blue and Gold

Members of the girls tennis team practicing for a recent match. Photo by Johanna Lai.

Starting off a fairly new and young team, the girls tennis team has high hopes for this spring season. Junior captain Lisa DeLacey hopes to “help others learn the basics of the game, including how to keep score, proper tennis etiquette, and the logistical aspects of tennis.” DeLacey also noted how she really wanted to play a role in motivating the girls to practice hard and play hard.”

DeLacey and the team both know that they need a large amount of practice and after everyone on the team knows the basics, it should be much easier to learn the skills of tennis. The team’s goal is to be able to enter states and to do so they have to be able to win, leading back to the key aspect, practice. DeLacey stated, “winning is rewarding in the most direct way possible [but] winning is not everything, learning and effort is ultimately what drives people to attain success.” It is obvious that the team is extremely excited and motivated considering every girl on the team participates with full effort and enjoys the sport.

Senior captain Wendy Tse has mutual feelings with DeLacey towards perfecting the team’s participation in the sport. If she was to give one piece of advice to the team, it would be “to never give up.” Tse shared an experience from her freshman year and how she feels she was one of the worst players. With her dedication and commitment to tennis she rose to the top and managed to become a captain for this season. Just like every other team, practice makes perfect. Tse also gives advice to the team “never feel intimidated and to keep their heads up because they have what it takes” to achieve success.

This year has started off on a good note especially since they have experienced a win over Boston Latin High School for the first time ever. Tse came to the conclusion that “it really was a big deal because none of [them] expected to win that day.” The first win of the season was over Somerville where they swept them 5-0.

Tse also wanted to praise coach Margaret Pettit because she “plays a huge role in how [they] are performing. Coach Pettit pushes [them] harder each and everyday to strive. [None of them enjoy it] but she makes [them] better. And she does what she does to help [them] improve.”

Sophomore Christine Le also feels similar towards Pettit when she states, “coach Pettit, greatly influences the team. She is an excellent coach who is committed to helping [them]  all play as well as [they] can.” Le also shared that she would want MHS to know that “you do not need to be a pro to be a part of the team. [The] coach looks for girls who are willing to commit and learn. As long as you show that its what you want, you definitely have a chance” on being on the team.

Currently, the team’s record is 5-3 and they are still striving with high expectations for the remainder of the season.