Girls tennis reached many goals that they had set at the beginning of the season.
“We ended up with the winning record. We finished 9 and 5 on the year, which is awesome. Anytime you finish with a winning record that says something about your team. [There’s] definitely been a nice progression. Every year we’ve gone up,” said varsity coach Johnny Kent.
In this season, many of the girls bonded over things they had in common, helping them to work as a team.
“I think the most important part when it comes to working as a team is cheering on your teammates. Although tennis appears to be an individual sport, or in the case of doubles a partner sport, every match matters toward the final outcome, so it’s really nice when they cheer you on,” said junior Mindy Kramer.
There were specific goals that the team had set at at the start of their season.
“We had as a goal to try and win conference and we weren’t able to quite do that. We wanted to win as many matches as we could. We wanted to get better and have fun every day,” Kent said.
Along with team goals, the players set personal goals that they hoped to accomplish as the season continued.
“My personal goals were to improve on my overall game, competitiveness, and especially consistency throughout the matches I played,” said junior Chloe Berna.
Throughout all the bonding and fun the players had within their matches, there were some matches that were tough to get through.
“Grayslake Central is always going to be a tough match. They haven’t lost in conference since we started in NLCC. We lost 2-5 over there, so we played well. Lakes is a tough one too because their top singles player has a good chance of winning State. And then playing Warren, they’re always pretty good,” Kent said.
As for the girls who are returning next year, they are already thinking about their personal goals to help better themselves for next season.
“I am most excited to continue to bond with the other girls on the team. It’s going to be my last season [next year], so I really want to make it count,” Kramer said.
Overall, the season had many positives and only brought the team closer.
“This year was enjoyable because of the personal relationships the team had. Also because of the progress everyone made this season,” Berna said.