Girls’ varsity tennis sweeps Marin Catholic 7-0 in their last regular season game

Following an exciting day with a homecoming rally, spirit wear and class competition, the varsity girls’ tennis team headed over to their home court to take on Marin Catholic (MC) on Oct. 24 in their last regular season game. Fortunately, Redwood was able to bring home a redeeming 7-0 win after a disappointing defeat of 4-3 against MC on Oct. 5. 

Prior to the match, the team celebrated their senior players Zoe Babikian, Lindsay Dubin, Sarah Fraschetti and Vanessa Comins in the annual senior ceremony. Head coach Charles Fager, who has coached many of the seniors since their freshman season, has thoroughly enjoyed observing the progress these four girls have made throughout their time on the team.

“It’s amazing to watch them go from basically advanced eighth graders up to young women. It’s a beautiful thing to see and to watch them develop and mature not just as a human being in general, but specifically as athletes,” Fager said. 

Like Frager, many players found senior day as the perfect opportunity to appreciate the older players. One such player, sophomore Georgia Harms, has formed unbreakable bonds playing with the four seniors over her last two years.

“…These four have been the bulk of our team. Even when they weren’t captains, they were all kind of the glue that held it all together. We are going to miss them a lot on and off the court,” Harms said.

The positive energy Harms sees in the team carried over into the match, helping the Giants sweep the Wildcats in a shutout game. While that score may suggest the Giants were in complete control, three out of the seven matches went to a 10 point tie-break. Through the win, Redwood earned home court advantage in the upcoming MCAL championships.

Dominant performances from Harms and junior Erin Roddy fueled the Redwood win. While Harms didn’t have her match until later sets, Roddy’s intensity set the tone for the afternoon winning one of the first matches for the team. Having lost against MC last game by just one match, Harms felt the pressure to perform prior to her sets.

“Obviously we are really close with [Marin Catholic] and last time we lost really narrowly… It all comes down to the team’s mentality and I think we have a really go mentality this [match]; Even better than last time, so I think that’s going to help us,” Harms said. 

As the match came to a close, the seniors felt nostalgic about their time at Redwood.

“I’ve gotten to make posters for the upperclassmen in the previous years and it’s crazy that they were making posters for me. It was kind of a wake up call that we are actually leaving and it’s our last [regular season] game,” Babikian said. 

Needless to say, this bittersweet experience has caused many to reflect on the progress the seniors have made over their years on Redwood tennis. Fager highly respects the time and dedication these girls have put into their high school tennis careers. 

“…They’ve put their hearts and souls into the team and you can’t imagine how much hard work they’ve put in. They have also done a great job in particular building a good sisterhood this year. That takes a lot of work, and they’ve been great in building that team unity,” Fager said. 

The girls will compete against Branson in the MCAL playoffs at Redwood on Tuesday Oct. 29 at 2:30.