By Cody Schott
Sporting a 0-5 record to begin the season, the girlsâ tennis team looks to rebound to keep their Mission League title chances alive. The squad fell to the likes of Palos Verdes 3-15, Peninsula 4-14, Campbell Hall 4-14, Brentwood 6-12 and Chaminade 8-10. The aforementioned teams are ranked as some of the top teams in California, and Captain Cassidy Horn â08 has few qualms about the teamâs performance.
âWe started last year with a 0-4 record as well, and then our team took off and ended up having a great season,â Horn said.
Coach Chris Simpson said he was somewhat disappointed with the start to the campaign. Though schedule strength is extremely important to the coach, Simpson was hoping for slightly better results.
âYou canât be any worse,â Simpson said. âHopefully weâll get better.â
Another issue for Simpson has been injuries. He commented before the season about how health will determine the fate of the team, and almost immediately, number two singles player Sayumi Kobayashi â09 went down.
Two other starters were missing in the matches against Campbell Hall and Brentwood.
As if injury wasnât enough for the coach to put a question mark on his team, Simpson has now come to wonder about the devotion of some of his players. He commented that some players do not seem to take the team seriously and that it has âaffected the results.â
The new number one singles player Caroline Richman â09 has stepped up into her new role, Simpson said.
Both Horn and Simpson agree that she has been a key player for the team. Against a strong Peninsula squad, Richman came away with two victories in three matches, accounting for half the teamâs total wins.
âItâs always a hard position to assume, but I really think that she will do a great job,â Horn said.
Even though the team won a match yet, team morale is still high according to Horn.
She remains optimistic of the teamâs chances to retain the Mission League crown, of which, theyâve been in possession of since before Horn joined the team.