VWS tennis battles in league individual prelims

Nichola Monroe and Vivien Xi

November 2, 2019

Nichola Monroe (’22)

Sydney Wuu (‘20) stands ready as Kara Sun (‘20) hits the ball towards the teams’ Sage Hill opponents.

Singles:

VWS varsity singles, Mariia Lykhtar (‘22), Vivien Xi (‘21), and Sarah Balanza (‘22) battled fifteen top singles players from five different schools in the San Joaquin League. On Tuesday, October 29th, they traveled to Sage Hill School in Newport for the San Joaquin league prelims individual singles tournament.

While the winds down near Newport beach initially affected the consistency and confidence of each player, they all won the first round with herculean effort; Mariia, Vivien, and Sarah each triumphed with set scores of 8-5, 8-4, and 8-2, respectively. However, in the second round, the three players encountered two nationally ranked singles players from the Tartans, losing with set scores of 0-8, 0-8, and 0-8.

Mariia, VWS varsity tennis singles No.1, said, “Once I found my motivation, I enjoyed rallying freely with the nationally ranked SMES player. My serves were much more consistent and my shots were very well-angled.”

The Monday night prior to league individual prelims, coaches from each school initiated a conference call to discuss the game specifics. Sage Hill School and Saint Margaret’s Episcopalian School (SMES), the top ranked schools in the league, had the priority to pair up players according to their personal records throughout the season.

Doubles:

The next day, October 30th, VWS doubles faced off with opponents from Sage Hill, SMES, and Fairmont Prep at their league prelims hosted on Webb’s campus. Representing VWS were teams Sydney Wuu (‘20) and Kara Sun (‘20), Jenna Zhao (‘20) and Andrea Phung (‘20), and Gaby Trauttmansdorff-Weinsberg (‘22) and Faith Ferry (‘21). All three teams fought hard to play up to their potential, and hopefully book a spot in league finals.

Gaby, who took the place of starter Jenna Hawkes (‘21), said, “I’m kind of nervous for the game because I haven’t been playing that much this season so I’m a little bit out of practice, but hopefully the warm-up will help me get ready… Sage Hill is definitely a hard school to play.”

After warm-up at the upper courts, the teams headed down to the lower courts to face their opponents. In the first round, Andrea and Jenna won 8-4, Sydney and Kara lost 4-8, and Gaby and Faith won 8-3. Andrea, Jenna, Faith, and Gaby advanced to the second round while Sydney and Kara cheered them on. In the second round, facing top-ranked players from the San Joaquin League, Faith and Gaby lost 0-8, and Jenna and Andrea lost 1-8.

Jenna, after winning her first match with teammate Andrea, said, “We started off slow at first but we got our heads in the game and focused really hard on good teamwork.”

Not only did each of the VWS tennis players demonstrate focus, commitment, and teamwork during their matches, they also displayed the utmost sportsmanship as many players aimed to just do their best and play well. With losses for both singles and doubles, the VWS tennis team is headed back to the courts to practice for their CIF team wildcard match in the week of November 4th.

About the Contributors

Nichola Monroe, Chief Editor of Features

If you’re looking for a Webb big sister, Nichola Monroe (‘22) is the person for you. An experienced co-chair of the VWS dorm prefect council, she is always looking for ways to lend her knowledge to newer students both in the dorm and outside. As a returning member of the Webb Canyon Chronicle and this year’s Chief Editor of Features, she is excited to write engaging articles, share her journalism experiences, and help others thrive. Over this last summer, Nichola fostered her leadership skills at a summer camp in Maine. She lived in a cabin with younger girls and taught them how to make ceramics and jewelry, sewing, and other important life skills. Although Nichola usually resides in Dana Point, she is currently living at Webb and hopes to initiate new dorm activities for other boarders in Jameson to enjoy. Also an activist, Nichola cares deeply about current issues like climate change and sustainability. When she’s not helping other people, you can most likely find her outdoors, whether it's dancing, walking her dog at the beach, knitting under a tree, or simply just doing somersaults in front of her dorm. Favorite song: "Stay for the Summer" by Logan & Isabel

Vivien Xi, Chief Copy Editor

Vivien Xi (‘21) is a positive and energetic soul from Shanghai, China. This year, she has taken on the role of Chief Copy Editor for the Webb Canyon Chronicle. She is perfect for the position because she is motivated, responsible, organized, and loves helping others. Over the summer, she interned at multiple financial firms and worked at a restaurant. Vivien’s spirit animal is a bee, because they are always working diligently and socializing with others. Vivien's busy bee work ethic will serve her well working on the WCC team and in her near future, especially since she wants to study economics and media. She enjoys playing tennis, eating sushi, and hanging out with friends and family. She wishes to make a positive impact in life, big or small. Vivien has gained a confident voice from working with the Webb Canyon Chronicle. This year, she plans to use her voice and platform on the WCC to speak out about healthcare systems around the world and how COVID-19 has impacted those systems.