Even before school starts, the tennis team played their first match. School was still two weeks away, but the varsity tennis team was already on the courts for their fall season. In the season opener, they played Ellison Aug. 13. The team would go on to win eight more matches in August and September, including a crushing 18-1 win over College Station.

“Winning at College Station was great, but it was even better that it was away,” junior Danielle Brown said. “I’m proud of how we played as a team and I knew that going into regionals would be hard and we would have our work cut out for us.”

The varsity team would go on to win six more matches for a record of 9-6 going into the district tournament.

For district play, the team had a bye in the first round and faced Vista Ridge in the second round. Having played Vista Ridge less than a month earlier, the Raiders felt confident about playing the Rangers again. With a home court advantage, the Raiders won 10-7, advancing to the semifinals.

“It was a no brainer we would [win],” junior Julie Forsyth said. “Plus, it gave coach [Michael] Hjort something to brag about.”

The team faced Cedar Park in the semifinals for a chance to play for the championship. The team lost the away match by only three matches, 10-7.

“Our team has worked so hard this season and we deserved regionals more than Cedar Park did,” sophomore Zane Ritter said. “Hopefully, we will be able to pull into second place next year.”  

The semifinal loss pitted the team against Leander to determine third and fourth place. The team defeated the Lions, 10-3 to take third place. This was the second year in a row the team finished third, just shy of advancing to regionals.

“We didn’t meet our goal of making it to regionals,” Hjort said. “They played very well though and I am proud of them.”