Tennis Tops Broncos, Qualifies for NCS

The girls’ varsity tennis team defeated Northgate High School at home, 6-3 on October 16.  A celebration of current senior players preceded the game.

The win moves the Cougars to 3rd place in the Diablo Athletic League, giving them a chance to play in the NCS tournament with begins November 3.

“It was kind of a surprise because we were not supposed to win that match, but now we qualify for NCS,” said senior co-captain Maile Nomura.

As this was the last home game of the season, the team celebrated the seniors for their contribution and leadership before the match began. According to senior Kat Xie, “[Senior Night] is a big day; everyone is motivated to do well.”

Nomura added that it was “really fun because the seniors got their own posters and flowers and the parents did a lot of work with balloons.”

All 3 doubles teams swept the Broncos. “Our #1 doubles’ team had a really rough game last time we played, but this time, they crushed them,” said Nomura. Nomura and her partner Alex Bonardi’s battled through a tie-breaker to win their match.

Sophomore Noel Seo’s 6-4 6-3 singles win was the standout match of the night. 4-year varsity team member, senior team co-captain, Carissa Zhu said, “Noel Seo [is] our number 5 singles player. She is very determined and she plays very well. She made it on [the team] her freshman year.”

According to Coach Steve Robinson, their success is in part due to the strategy where “most of [the] girls are singles or doubles specialists so we work vigorously with them on singles or doubles strategy.”

Many of the Cougar’s top players will be returning next year. Zhu said, “A lot of our strong players are staying behind. Our whole singles line up is staying intact.”