Sports

Lady Barons soar above the Eagles

BVH’s girls’ tennis team beat OHS

Captain and senior Alexa Fakhimi uses a backhand swing to hit the lower ball. On October 5th 2021 BVH beats Eastlake at the Tennis Courts of BVH.

Stephanie Liang, Isabella Garcia, and Jose Solis
October 15, 2021

On Oct. 5th at the Bonita Vista High (BVH) tennis courts, the BVH girls’ tennis team won 15 out of their 18 games played against Olympian High School. BVH won a majority of their sets, with four players on the BVH team, two singles and a double, going undefeated in their sets.

In tennis, players attempt to win at least six games and need to win by more than two points to win the set. Sets are played three times to decide the victor of the entire match. Players are either a doubles player or singles player, meaning they play with a partner against two people or they play one on one. Both BVH doubles and singles players prepared for their match by practicing their various shots and training. There are different kinds of ways to hit the ball which can make it harder for your opponent to return it and can be used to your advantage.

“Over the two weeks of break we were practicing a lot. We were practicing our slices, topspins and just like control and placement of the ball,” Doubles tennis player and BVH senior Jasmine Huerta said. “We were practicing that [yesterday] so I really put that to use today.”

The team ran around the court while their coach threw balls at different angles, training to become quicker. Among the players training was Huerta, who won all her sets with scores of 6-2, 6-4 and 6-0.

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After preparing for so long and winning their sets, the team carries a level of nonchalance on the court.

— Jose Solis

“I think [we won against Olympian] because we were playing like we were at practice,” Huerta said. “We were using our skills instead of just lobbing it and playing it safe.”

Along with Huerta’s undefeated streak, another singles tennis player went undefeated in their own matches. The other singles player was girls’ tennis team Captain and BVH senior Alexa Fakhimi, who won her sets 6-1, 6-0 and 6-0.

“There was one time where the ball was really short. I sprinted for it and I hit it.” Fakhimi said. “I didn’t think I was going to get to the ball [but] I ended up getting to it.” Then, from the start of the match, Number One Singles player Bibiana Martinez comes out of the gate swinging with a 6-1 and 6-0. Elizabeth Greeno, Martinez’ sub-in for her last game, won 7-5 after an intense back-and-forth. Martinez is one of the most experienced players on the team, exemplifying how her and the other team members felt confident about their win.

“[My opponent was] a really nice person but I [felt] confident that I’ll do good.” Martinez said. “I’m happy [about us winning].”

The skills they developed over the 2 week break led them to the victory against Olympian. The time and effort they put into refining their craft was shown throughout their entire team during the match.

“Most of [the team] just started last year or a few months ago,” Martinez said. “[Yet,] they’ve all grown so much and I’m just really proud of them because they’re playing at levels that show a tremendous amount of growth.”

An earlier version of this article’s photo caption falsely stated senior Bibiana Martinez as the person in the photo. The caption was updated October 19th, 2021