Girls’ Tennis Beats Gunn En Route To CCS

Sam Greene, Copy-Editor

October 27, 2010

The Palo Alto High School girls’ varsity tennis team defeated archrival Gunn High School 5-2 this Tuesday in its second to last league match at the Paly courts

Together, the Lady Vikes rallied to clinch a crucial victory and remain a contender in their league. With this win over Gunn under their belt, the Lady Vikes will train hard to prepare for their last league match against Homestead High School. If victorious, the team will secure its seed in Central Coast Section (CCS) playoffs and be tied for third place in league.

Head coach Andy Harader expressed relief after putting away Gunn, conceding that the result of each Paly-Gunn match up depends on each team’s desire to win.

“On any given day, [Gunn] can rise to the occasion,” Harader said. “They haven’t had such a good season and it would have made their season a lot more palatable had they beat us.”

Captain Mira Khanna ('11) sends the ball over the net during the Gunn match on Tues., Oct. 26, 2010.

Since the Lady Vikes fought to maintain a dominant lead in their matches, they emerged with wins from all three doubles teams. Number one doubles duo Margot Gerould (’11) and Felicia Wang (’14) put The Titans away after playing three sets. Amy Ke (’12) and Sabrina Yeung (’11) finished off their opponent after coming up short in the first set to win 6-2 and 6-1. Maya Krasnow (’11) and Emily Efland (’11) won in their first two sets, both with scores of 6-1.

“Gunn’s doubles are always tough,” Harader said. “What we have been working on the last couple of weeks, which is being tougher in third sets really, has paid off. [We won] more third sets today than we lost, so that turned around a statistic.”

On the number one singles court, the Lady Vikes’ Mira Khanna (’11) matched up against Titan Alana Booth in a close match, ending with Khanna losing in the third tiebreaking set. Nevertheless, singles players Sammy Solomon (’13) and Aashli Budhirhaa (’14) both won their matches, pulling the team ahead of Gunn for the overall win.

“I started off a lot slower and it took me awhile to warm up and I was making a ton of unforced errors,” Khanna said. “I’m really glad that [the Lady Vikes] came and pulled through [because] there were a couple of close matches.”

Solomon echoes this opinion and was pleased that Lady Vikes once again proved themselves on the court.

“Our team has done really well against them [Gunn] in the past,” Solomon said. “We had a good chance of beating them and I’m glad we pulled out a win. They’re our rivals so we always play tough against them.”

In a deciding match against Homestead at home this Thursday at 3:30 pm, the team will play to claim its spot in the upcoming CCS tournament.

About the Contributor

Sam Greene, Copy Editor

Sam Greene studies at the Univesity of California, Berkeley. He joined the journalism program at Palo Alto High School in 2008 and has been writing for himself and professional publications ever since. While working with the Viking Magazine he enjoyed polishing and buffing up its array of award-winning pieces. With his free time he follows artists, practices medicine, blends smoothies and climbs mountains. In his soccer career he played for Palo Alto Blue 93B State Champion team and Nationally renowned soccer club. With his free time he familiarizes himself with stringed instruments and trains for triathlons. A dedicated Sharks fan, Sam bleeds and teal and sees his team clinching the playoff in his lifetime.