The start of the spring sports season means the beginning of another season for La Salle’s girls tennis team. 

Each member of the team has their own reason for loving tennis as a sport, the games, and playing this season. For some, it was “playing with friends,” senior co-captain Gabbi Tassinari said. 

For others, it was being able to play another sport with friends in the spring. “A lot of the girls from my soccer team were joining and I thought it’d be really fun to be on a team with them again,” freshman Greta Dazer said.

Or, the enjoyment can be born out of seeing growth as a coach. “I just love watching the individual grow while building chemistry within a team,” head coach David Lane said.

The season is only a few weeks in so far, but the team has finished their evaluations already and played their first games of the season. Many of the new and returning students on the team are excited to continue growing, competing together, and “just traveling to different schools,” Dazer said. “I’m just really excited for the season to start and to play.” 

This year’s team is led by La Salle’s German teacher David Lane, assisted by religion teacher Mr. Kendrick, John Judge, Sue Judge, and Geraldine Carter, alongside three team captains: seniors Gabbi Tassinari, Sophia Hauer, and Avery Richards.  

“[The captains] are amazing communicators,” Mr. Lane said. “They’re kind of our eyes and ears with the rest of the team and so we consult with them and get their advice and opinions when it comes to practices.”

Tennis is both an individual and team sport. Many players play matches against each other to determine their rankings on the team. “So there’s a competitive aspect against your own teammates, as well as remembering that you’re teammates,” Tassinari said. 

Tuesday, March 14 marked the first game of the season. It was an away game against Grant High School, a 6A school, which provides tougher competition than the team will face in league play, but the girls on the tennis team played well overall. As there are multiple matches, there were both wins and losses for the girls. 

“Kennedy [Harris] had a pretty big [win],” junior Stacia Han said. “Claire and Olivia, seniors in our team, also had a big win.”

In between games, which are normally on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the teams have practices outside on the tennis courts. With the spring season, the weather can become unpredictable and can rain, so players must also compete with the weather. 

Each player on the team has their own personal goals for the season such as getting better at serving, but one of the big goals for the team is to win districts and state this year. 

With many more games to come, the next game will be on March 23 at La Salle against Lincoln High School.