Varsity Girls Tennis secured a 5-1 victory against Mountain View High School on Tuesday, Sept. 30. The team started the game with a hot streak, winning 4 matches in a row, ultimately encountering a loss for the first time in their second to last game. However, the Matadors quickly bounced back from this loss and ended the day with a win, cementing their victory over Mountain View.
Despite freshman doubles player Anna Zhang having to sit out due to an injury, Head Coach Gene Fortino was able to swiftly rearrange the double pairings and set MVHS back into its usual rhythm. Fortino believes the team did well staying focused throughout the game, despite being fatigued after placing second at the Santa Barbara Invitational over the weekend.
“That was a long weekend, and it’s easy to just let your guard down,” Fortino said. “So I was really proud that they were focused and energized today.”
Fortino emphasizes the importance of consistency and not peaking early on in the season in MVHS’ league. The De Anza Division is hardest divsion in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League making each match a grind from start to finish.
“There are no easy matches in our league,” Fortino said. “Sometimes even the last place team in our league is the 12th best team in the section. You can’t take any days off when going against these teams.”
Senior and captain Jillian Yang echoes Fortino’s belief about the team being energetic in its matches. However, during the game, Yang was surprised by the opposition’s performance, as she says that they’re underrated online compared to the competition they put up.
Yang hopes to continue this performance in upcoming games and is optimistic about the season. She reflects that sometimes players get a little too competitive and begin to only care about winning, but during this game, everyone managed to maintain high spirits.
“That’s a key thing in school tennis — some people take it too seriously, then they end up not having fun,” Yang said. “I’m really proud of everyone. I just hope everyone keeps playing more relaxed and not too tight. Just have fun.”
Overall, Fortino plans to take the season strategically to ensure more successful games. He notes that he is already seeing improvement in the team game by game.
“We’re just trying to take one match at a time,” Fortino said. “We don’t overlook anyone. We know our League’s tough, especially right now, so we go out there every match and do our best. We lost to Los Gatos 4-3, one of the strongest teams in our league, and Menlo, which is not in our league, but one of the strongest teams in the section. We lost to them 4-3 as well. We just hope to keep continuing to get better and better as the season goes along and I think we’re seeing that.”
