Seniors Amber Tang and Ivy Choi both take a deep breath and with a rush of adrenaline and encouraging shouts from their team members, they step onto the court with determination and prepare to face their competitors.
This was the evening of the tennis game against the Monrovia Wildcats on Sept. 26. The Rams emerged victorious, defeating the Wildcats on the court with a rare clean sweep, which is a score of 18-0.
The season has just begun and their record so far is 6-4. Although they are proud of the victory against Monrovia, the team is still looking to improve.
“The most exciting part of my game was the continuous volleys,” Tang said. “It was intense. But, I need to work on getting faster serves. I plan on improving with more pratice and more confidence. Confidence helps.”
In their most recent game against La Canada on Oct. 3, the Rams lost 7-11. The team also suffered a lost with a score of 4-14 in the game against Arcadia where the team decided to stack.
Back on Sept. 30, the Rams played against South Pasadena and won with a score of 11-7. The singles teams won five games while the doubles won six.
The South Pasadena Tigers had strong singles players, resulting a few losses for the Rams. However, the doubles teams this year have improved and have scored more victories this year than in previous years.
The biggest change for the team this year is their new coach, tennis Coach Nate Slaymaker, who replaced Coach Savay Lieu. Mr. Lieu retired from his position last year after coaching tennis since 1998. During the beginning of the match against Monrovia, Mr. Lieu made a brief special appearance and wished the team good luck.
“Lieu was a very motivational coach,” Senior Sophie Ho said. “I’m still very curious of what Coach Lieu would have done with this year’s girls’ season but I can’t think of any other coach besides Coach Slaymaker better-fitting to continue with Lieu’s coaching legacy.”
The team is currently preparing for their home game against San Marino on Oct. 10 at 3:30 and hope to add another victory to their score.