Girls’ Tennis Perseveres Through Multiple Hardships

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Ava Von Pinnon sets up her serve. Photo by: Chae Teigan

Tyger Albano, Editor

The 2023 Girls’ Tennis Season started rough due to the harsh weather and loss of players. Although it would have been easy to throw in the towel and give up, that is not what the team decided to do and push through. 

Amy Albrecht, the Head Coach for Girls’ Tennis said that the weather that canceled multiple days of school and filled the entirety of the courts in early April prohibited them from playing for weeks. Over email Albrecht stated, “the weather has been horrible this spring.  We lost three practices days the first week due to a blizzard, and not having school. We spent three weeks inside at Courts Plus. Courts Plus has very limited time and we could only have an hour of practice a day.” Thankfully in late April the team got on the court. “After a full three weeks the girls were finally able to play outside in late April. Albrecht says, “It is finally nice to get back outside and be able to play matches.” 

The weather was not the only problem, however. Albrecht states that, “We lost 13 seniors last year and it has impacted the team. We are in a rebuilding year and have spent lots of time working on the basics of tennis and lots of fundamentals.  The top 3 girls played numbers 4,5, and 6 last year. The rest of the team has never played in a varsity match prior to this year.”  

Even with the double-digit loss of seniors, the team gained newfound talent and players. Albrecht states, “we had ten new girls join this year and have 28 total out this spring. Paige Knuittla, Ava Von Pinnon and Hope Uggerud have all stepped up to the play the top 3 positions and are showing great leadership. Hannah Moseng and Rachel Spanier are new to varsity tennis and have been showing great improvement in the number 3 doubles spot.” 

Not only is the coach optimistic for the season, but the players as well. Alex Cudney, a senior on the team who has been playing for three years now and has undergone a lot such as a new coach and new teammates. “Our team has taken turns being young and losing seniors. When I joined there was a single senior and a lot of juniors, now those juniors have graduated and I’m one of four seniors.” Cudney said. Throughout the years she has seen many upsides to being on the team. “Overall, we get better, learn more together. A huge positive is that for this type of sport, we have an incredibly close and welcoming team. Despite the snow and the heat, we experience throughout the season, we come to practice and enjoy it.”  

As for when Cudney leaves she still holds great wishes for what is to come for the team. “I hope for the future that this trend continues, even after all of the current team graduates. I hope our team keeps up the positive attitude while we become more competitive.” 

The Girls’ Tennis team has undergone a lot this year specifically. However, their resilience and perseverance has gotten them through the snow and other negative conditions. The schedule for the rest of the Girls’ Tennis season can be found here.