On Oct. 16, the girls’ varsity tennis team continued their undefeated streak in a blowout against Novato High School. They ended the game with a 6-0 point advantage over Novato.
Before the game, six seniors were celebrated during the team’s annual senior day with speeches and received hand-decorated posters made by their teammates.
Senior and four-year varsity tennis player Annesley Krawitt reflected on her time playing for Redwood.
“[The team is] super supportive all the time [and] just so much fun. Everything about [the team] is just amazing. I’ve made so many good friends and I’m also excited to see what’s ahead for me and my teammates,” Krawitt said.
Krawitt also noted the success of her match for herself and her doubles partner, senior Kelly Melbaris. Together the girls dominated their doubles match which contributed to Redwood’s perfect score.
“[Melbardis] played very well. We played well together, all wanting to have a good time [during] our last match as seniors,” Krawitt said.
Krawitt and Melbardis finished their two sets with exceptional wins of 6-1 and 6-0.
Freshman Julia Povio enjoys being part of the team and getting to know upperclassmen. The girls work to create an enjoyable environment for each other, which makes the sport fun for the players and the coach.
“Everyone is really close friends, which is super fun. We’re like family, we call each other sisters,” Povio said.
With this being the seniors’ last season, they have to decide whether or not they want to continue playing tennis after high school. Krawitt and other seniors plan to continue playing tennis through a club team after they graduate.
“As [it’s] our last season, it is definitely bittersweet, [I feel] nostalgic after all four years,” Krawitt said.
New varsity coach Tracey Porter is sad to see the seniors go and says she will miss coaching such talented players. She has so much fun with the team and hopes the seniors continue to play tennis after high school.
“I’m excited for them and the next chapter in their lives, [it] can be very exciting,” Porter said.
Porter has also noticed significant improvement throughout the season, which has helped bring the team their exceptional ranking.
“All their games [have] evolved over the last two months. They’re more consistent. They’re getting more aggressive at the net [and] their serves are getting better. They’ve really turned out to be beautiful players,” Porter said.
The girls are looking forward to the upcoming Marin County Athletic League (MCAL) finals and the National Champion Sports finals. Porter hopes to help her team dominate these competitions by practicing with drills at the net and working on consistency and power. Porter credits all of the team’s success this season to the girls, the team is so far ranked number one this season.
The girls will compete in an MCAL singles and doubles match at the College of Marin on Oct. 30.
