What’s all the racquet?
Tennis team advances to district.
Nikita Girish, 10 hits tennis ball in match.
October 1, 2019
The afternoon sun beats down on her back as she crouches in her ready position. Squinting, she wipes the sweat from her forehead and takes a deep breath.
Focus.
Concentrate.
Then, attack.
With one swift motion, she sends the ball flying across the court and just like that: the match is won.
Sophomore Nikita Girish is part of the varsity tennis team that is playing in their district match Tuesday, October 1. This game determines if they can advance to area, region, and possibly even state.
“This season has been much better than the last,” Girish said. “Last year we had a lot less people on the team so we had to forfeit from matches – but this year we have a lot of people so we’re doing really good.”
After winning against both Connally last Friday and Marble Falls last Tuesday, the team solidified their spot in the district match. Their winning record allows them to play easier teams at district, hopefully allowing them to advance even farther.
Nikita Girish, 10 backhands tennis ball across the court.
After winning a point, Sherry Lu, 10 and teammate celebrate with a high five.
“I definitely knew we were going to make it to districts,” Girish said. “Our team is strong, especially since some people who played for fun graduated – and we now have a lot of new freshmen who are serious about playing.”
To prepare for their matches, the tennis players condition by doing bleachers, weight room and running the track. However, the main aspect of their training is target practice, a drill where the players hit the ball in a certain direction.
“We work out a lot,” Girish said. “But we don’t work on one skill over and over. Our coach gives us a ton of different drills so it’s never the same thing every day.”
Girish says that this year’s team has some players who compete in the United States Tennis Association (UTSA), an organization that holds tournaments teams can register and compete in. There are three levels of players: Challenger, Champ, and Super Champ.
“I’m a Super Champ, and there’s two Champs as well as another Super Champ on our team,” Girish said. “I’m looking forward to all of us competing – I think our team is going to do pretty well.”
