The Lady Dons varsity tennis team started off their season with a record of three wins and three losses. The girls are playing their hardest to compete for the coveted CIF league title.

Senior Elizabeth Ellis said, “We have a strong team with twelve seniors on it. We will do better this year.” Coach Marquez concurred, “The team is much bigger this year. We are much deeper in talent than in years past. Even though our team is bigger, the team is better as a whole together. From last year’s team of only twelve players, the girls have increased their team size to nineteen.

With such high praise from their coach, the ladies have had a hard time determining who a team captain could be. When El Cid asked five seniors who they thought would be a team captain, there were five different responses. Coach Marquez said, “It is tough to say who would be a team captain, as everyone contributes in her own way. The most vocal players are Ana Lo Valdez and Kenadee Cox, but all of the girls have a responsibility to help the team out and bring them closer together.”

The closeness of the team suggests high aspirations for the season. Senior Diana Ramos said, “My expectation for the team this year is for us to do well, to go to CIFs and do well in tournaments.” Senior Melissa Bolivar agreed, “We will do good this year. We are hoping to win the CIF tournament.” The players have high expectations for their team. Coach Marquez, however, has more conservative hopes, “I just want everybody to improve. If that happens, the whole team will improve, and that will allow us to do the best we can in CIF.”

With last year’s record of three wins and sixteen losses, the team this year is already off to a better start. According to Kenadee, a three-year varsity veteran, “The team this year is really good. Last year we just didn’t have chemistry. This year we are closer together and have more trust in each other.”

The ladies have started the season off with some wins and hope to continue their trend. Coach Marquez said, “We do not have a stud player like we have had in years past. Instead, we have a team with a lot of depth and a lot of talent. I am looking forward to competing in CIF this year with this team.”