Last Wednesday, October 9, the Los Altos High School varsity girls tennis team defeated the Mountain View High School Spartans 5–2 in a rivalry rematch game.
Changing their usual lineup, the Eagles brought on some players outside the starting roster. Senior Ava Cheng and junior Daniella Lee, who mainly play singles, were paired up for doubles 3.
“I was a little nervous since I haven’t played a lot this year,” Daniella said. “I was also paired with Ava, and we haven’t played a lot together, but she’s a really good tennis player. I was just happy that I could play with her.”
Throughout the match, the pair had many short rallies, especially at the beginning when they were adjusting to their opponents’ playstyles and techniques.
“Neither side was able to get that many kill volleys,” Ava said. “We did have a couple of long rallies, which are fun, but also fast and nerve-wracking.”
As singles players usually, they also faced some issues with communication and positioning.
“We tried our best to stay on our respective sides, but we’re still trying to work on it,” Daniella said. “We both prefer singles, but working with each other’s strengths, we still make a pretty strong team.”
Ultimately, they won both sets 6–2 and 6–1.
Sophomore Lucy lai also experienced a switch-up as Head Coach Hung Nguyen has been wanting to shift around the lineup more this season. Her doubles 2 partner for this game, senior Tyra Bogan, usually plays doubles 1 with junior Carissa Lai. Like Ava and Daniella however, they made their match-up work.
“We have different playstyles, but in a way that combines well for doubles,” Lucy said. “Tyra is active at the net, but my ground strokes are fairly solid, so our strengths and weaknesses play out well.”
Tyra and Lucy won their first set 6–2 and their second set 6–0, bringing home another victory for the Eagles.
“Mountain View is our rival school, so we have a lot of motivation to win,” Lucy said. “We pulled through.”
With this win against the Spartans, the Eagles run a league record of 6–1, and they will face Palo Alto High School at home for a rematch game on Thursday, October 17, at 4 p.m.
