Paly girls’ tennis was defeated by Castilleja 5-2 Wednesday, September 10th at home.

Captain Madeline Lee (’15) enjoyed playing the Gators and remained positive despite the loss.

“Even though the score wasn’t close, it’s always great to play Castilleja,” Lee said.

Lee and her partner Meredith Cummings (’17) played first doubles but lost their match in two sets, both 6-2.

The second doubles team fared better, winning their match in three sets. They won the first set 6-3 but lost the second when it went to a tiebreaker. This sent them to a 10-point tiebreaker for the third set, which Paly won 10-4.

The third doubles pair lost, 6-3 and 6-4.

Paly singles did about the same as their doubles. Mailinh Truong (’18) played first singles since the Vikings’ usual player, Avanika Narayen (’17) is out with an injury. She lost her match in two sets, 6-3 and 7-5. For second singles, Kelsey Wang (’16) triumphed over her opponent, 7-5 and 6-0.

Halle Biorn (’16) lost her third singles match in three sets. She won her first set 6-4, but lost the second 6-2, which led to a 10 point tiebreaker that Biorn lost 10-5.In the fourth singles game, Lucy Fox (’15) lost 6-0 and 6-1.

Lee commented on the strength of Castilleja’s team but that Paly competed well.

“We played a lot of tough matches today,” Lee said. “At least 3 were over two hours.”

Biorn agreed that the match was difficult, but that the team still gave it their best effort.

“The match against [Castilleja] was really tough,” Biorn said. “They have a very strong team and the heat [was definitely] a huge factor. Overall I think everyone played very well.”

The team is looking to use this preseason loss to better prepare them for the rest of the fall.

“Looking forward, we hope to pinpoint our weaknesses and get ready for the league season,” Lee said.

Next up, the Vikings face Milpitas on Tuesday at Milpitas High School.