GIRLS TENNIS:

(COURTESY / JESSIE FISHER)
New team, new season, new story. Coming out of the shadow of the undefeated in league girls varsity tennis team of 2017, this years girls varsity tennis team looks to come out on top of the CVC for the second year in a row.

Led by seniors Maya Tooker, Madi King, Sophia Appelbaum and undefeated sophomore Martina Arendaine, the Tigers are out to an impressive 6-2 league record thus far.

Not only do the Tiger’s singles players show out, their doubles teams have shown to be impressive as well, being one of the top doubles teams in the CVC.

Taylor Diep and Kaitlyn Ang are the team’s number one doubles pair and right behind them are the undefeated in league Gabby Supapo and Alyssa Stilwell.

First year tennis player Jessie Fisher knows the impact the upperclassmen have on the team.

“Being a senior, it definitely comes with taking a leadership role because there are a lot of younger players that look up to the us,” said Fisher. “I think we do a really good job of setting the tone for the team.”

After starting the season out to a hot 4-0 the team faced some challenges. According to head coach Shamila Tooker, despite the minor setbacks they faced, they are still set to finish the season successful.

“Unfortunately we had some injuries and illnesses mid season that contributed to hard losses to Bella Vista and Inderkum,” said Tooker. “The team bounced back however and had an excellent win against Woodcreek to start the second half. They are very energized to finish season strong.”

Heading into their last four league matches led by captains Maya Tooker, Madi King and Sophia Appelbaum, the squad’s practices consist of tailored drills detailed towards their next opponent.

According to Tooker, point by point, set by set, match by by match, the team has always focused on the small picture before the big picture.

Tooker also emphasizes how the team has prepared and will continue to prepare for big match ups.

“The captains do post practice and pre-game talks. For hard matches they emphasize playing every match point by point and giving maximum effort for their teammates,” said Tooker. “They also emphasize support and cheering for their teammates.”

As the team continues to bounce back on their road to being back to back CVC champions they look to defeat Yuba City, Bella Vista, and Inderkum in their final weeks of the 2018 tennis season.

GIRLS GOLF:

(COURTESY / KAYLA HARY)
The varsity girls golf team began their league season strong and currently hold a record of 7-3 overall and 5-2 in league. That comes on the heels of a 2017 campaign that saw the team finish with a record of 7-8 overall and 7-6 in league.

The girls team has improved from last after already hitting the same amount of wins as last year, with fewer losses.

After losing many key players during last year’s season, junior golfer Julia Tavianini looks forward to this year’s developed and accomplished team.

“We have actually really improved our game from last year and I think that because we lost all of our seniors last year and had to start all over, this year we are all experienced, making the team better,” Tavianini said. “But this year we have improved our scores and our team chemistry.”

Tavianini believes that with better chemistry, the team can enjoy the sport and play better.

“Our chemistry is improved so we are just having more fun out there and I feel that has helped improve our game from last year,” Tavianini said.

Although the team only has two seniors, it offers the talent of promising underclassmen. According to sophomore golfer Kayla Hary, the season has been enjoyable since she has been learning from her older teammates.

“It’s been fun,” Hary said. “It’s a great learning experience. I love golf, so I like how I’m learning new techniques.”

The girls have golfed 79 nine hole matches averaging a score 51.4 and a low of 42, having 4 medalists.

The team as a whole has only golfed six rounds of 18 holes, and average a 101.2 and a best of 94 by Kayla Hary.

Senior golfer Lexi Walter believes this season is more promising compared to last year due to the sheer amount of talent from the underclassmen.

“Our golf season has been very good compared to last year especially because we have really young talent on the team, like Kayla Hary, Annie Lemos, and even Julia Tavianini,” Walter said.