The Palo Alto High School varsity girls’ tennis team lost to Saratoga 1-6 today, falling to consistent baseline playing.
The Lady Vikes are rebounding from a tough week, according to head coach Andy Harader. They played Monta Vista and Saratoga, two of the league’s strongest teams, early in the season.
Felicia Wang (’14) pulled out a lone win (5-4, Def) in the No. 2 singles match, just like in her meet against Monta Vista earlier this week, after her opponent defaulted from an injured ankle.
“The No. 2 doubles had a very close match with the Monta Vista No. 2 and the Saratoga No. 2, and we just have to carry it through and finish it off,” Harader said.
No. 1 single Aashli Budhiraja (’14) lost her match (1-6, 3-6) and Katy Abbott (’13) lost her No. 3 singles match (2-6, 1-6).
“Felicia won the match in both contests and that’s pretty good,” Harader said. “Sam [Dewees, (’14)] played really good, Katy did really good, and they played singles, and they haven’t played many singles [matches] yet.”
The Lady Vikes put up a strong performance despite a young team and an injured player.
Team captain Amy Ke (’12) fought hard with her No. 1 doubles partner Hollie Kool (’14) but lost (2-6, 2-6). However, Ke is more focused on the rest of the season.
“I think we have a lot of potential because we’ve been playing really good teams which will prepare us for the rest of the season,” Ke said. “Since this is a new team, we need some time to play together and get to know each other but it’s getting better. As a team, we’re a lot closer and I think that’s a big part of playing – being close, [even] outside of tennis.”
Madeline Lee (’15) also lost her No. 3 doubles match (1-6, 0-6) with Caroline Nore (’14) but remains positive.
“I see us winning, multiple times,” Lee said. “Being on the varsity team as a freshman is exciting because I get to meet new people and it’s a good bonding experience. It’s breaks down the barriers between upperclassmen and underclassmen.”
Sarah Tayeri (’15) shared Lee’s enthusiasm, despite not playing in the meet today. “Number one [goal]: beat Monta Vista… and Saratoga next year,” Tayeri said.
The girls will play in the Santa Catalina Tournament beginning Friday, Sept. 16. Coach Harader has high hopes for the team.
“I could see us as the No. 4 team out of 16 in Monterey, so we’ll see,” Harader said.“I see a lot more fight [from the girls on the courts] and I like it.”
