On March 27, the Phoenix girls tennis team played against the Knights in their first home game of the spring season. The game concluded with a Phoenix win 9-0. 

Starting off the season with a win, the team has been eager to get back into the sport since the last school year. The team went up against John Champe for their first home game. While they have  seen success, the game served as a basis of where they need to improve. “Our team can definitely improve in doubles,” co-captain junior Tarini Panidepu said. “I know we have singles down, it’s just doubles that we need some work on. I think that our team is on a pretty good path.” 

This is Panidepu’s third year on the tennis team and she serves as the co-captain alongside junior Rachel Adams. “We’re both juniors. And that’s like a pretty big thing to be captains,” Panidepu said. Even with the fact that they are only juniors, Adams and Panidepu both lead the team to perform better.

The team hopes to continue their success as they had  an amazing season last year. “We were region runner-up,” junior Sannidhi Sangisetti said. “We won districts but just couldn’t get regions.” The team aims to go further this year, hoping to reach regionals by the end of this season. In order to do so, the team has been  devoting their energy to analyzing games and deciding what they need to improve on, as well as  preparing for the next upcoming game. 

Additionally, to reach this achieve

ment the team plans to play to their fullest extent and practice often. “[We should] probably work on our stamina and the heat because it’ll start getting super hot in May.” Sangisetti said. “We’re just going to be too hot. We are going to go out of water. [We] need to get our endurance up.” However, your mental state can also affect how you perform, on and off the court. “Your mental state can be really tough,” Panidepu said. “You have to muscle through your mental states basically. You’re playing against yourself and that’s a really big thing with tennis, [it’s] a really big mental thing.”

The next game for varsity girls tennis is scheduled for April 18th against Loudoun Valley.

Gallery • 2 Photos

Muhammad Reda

Junior Tarini Panidepu throws the ball in the air, getting ready to serve it to her opponent in the match.