The Varsity Girls Tennis team had a wonderful season with a fun team adventure to top it off! After defeating Wayne Country Day in the first round of play-offs and Caulfield Academy in the quarter finals, the team loaded up to take on semifinals in Gastonia, NC against Gaston Day School. Following practice after school on the day before the match, the girls and their coaches hit the road for a four hour car ride to Gastonia!

The majority of the team chose to break up the trip by stopping for Mexican dinner at Chipotle followed by delicious ice cream from Cold Stone for dessert. The girls used the fun dinner break to get enthusiastic for the big match and spend time together as a team. After the long journey, the team was excited to finally arrive at the hotel to relax and enjoy themselves before their big day. Hydration multipliers, stretches, and team bonding all helped everyone to prepare for the match. A fun time was had by all during the night at the hotel, but everyone was also sure to get plenty of rest in an effort to be fully energized for the day ahead. 

The morning of the match began with a full breakfast from the hotel buffet. Everyone was sure to fuel up with waffles, fruit, bacon, eggs, coffee, and more! Shortly after the breakfast, the players and coaches headed to the community courts to get one last practice in. The girls hit with their coaches and each other, warmed up their serves, and played a few mock points. After their morning practice, everyone headed back to the hotel to pack up, hydrate, and most importantly, get their uniforms on, living out their team motto of “look good to play good” (or LG2PG for short) as always. 

The next step in preparation for the match was a delicious team lunch at The Famous Toastery. Most people ordered the chicken mac n cheese, salads, sandwiches, or breakfast options, and everyone was beyond satisfied with their meal. It was such a fun opportunity for the team to be together one last time before the match and for everyone to motivate each other and have fun with such a close group of friends. 

After lunch, the girls were ready for game time! Our caravan to the Gaston Day School Racket Club was followed by the team’s full warm up routine, many pep talks, and an abundance of excitement. Doubles began with a victory on Court 2 from Elle Bartolomeo and Riley Bowles and incredibly close scores on Courts 1 and 3, with both courts losing by just two games in very hard fought matches. Singles concluded the match with a victory on Court 3 from Riley Bowles and a victory on Court 5 from Mari Robin Tharin. Nearly every RMA court that lost was an incredible match and ended in a very close tiebreaker. While the girls did not come home with the results that they hoped for, they played amazing tennis and came incredibly close to beating the team that would go on to win the championship. 

Due to their countless hours of practice and hard work and their dedicated coaches, the Varsity Girls had a wonderful season with a record of 16-5, and most significantly a win for their conference, securing the title of Conference Champions for the first time in a few years. Every member of the team contributed to a fabulous season, and the team became a very close group of friends that made many fun memories throughout the season. All of their accomplishments this season would not have been possible without the incredible amounts of dedication, patience, and leadership of their Assistant Coaches, Steve Love and Varsity Boys player Junior, Darshan Patel, and their Head Coach, David Keesee, who practically lived on the courts since school started, commuting an hour each day to lead the team to success and dedicating all of his time and talent to help the girls love the game of tennis and enhance their abilities tremendously. It was a one of a kind season for this group, and we are already looking forward to off season play and to next year!