After a gutting loss to Peninsula in the CIF finals, the girls’ tennis team had no choice but to refocus.
By making it to the semifinals, they qualified for the CIF regional tournament, but they fell on Friday to Torrey Pines in the regional tournament semifinals by a score of 4-3.
“We had never made it so far in CIF, let alone make it to the CIF regionals, so we’re very proud of that,” Jenna Moustafa ’17 said. “We all tried our best out there to win, but we didn’t pull out the close matches that we needed to to make it to the finals.”
It was the end of the road for a Wolverine team that exceeded all expectations. Head Coach Kristie Reynolds-Gripe took over as the team’s head coach this season, and some players believe the change helped the team bond.
“All the coaches are really motivated, and they work hard, and that’s translated to all of our attitudes about the program,” doubles player Juliana Simon ’16 said. “Everybody’s just more involved. Everybody’s cheering each other on more.”
Others also noticed the increase in teamwork.
“Everyone on the team is so into it, and it really comes across in all of our matches,” Moustafa said. “We are all so supportive of each other and excited to compete in each match.”
The Wolverines went undefeated in Mission League play and put together a twelve game winning streak that ended with the loss to Peninsula.
In the regional tournament, the Wolverines took down La Jolla Country Day 7-0 in the first round.
They defeated Northwood 5-2 the morning of their semifinal loss to Torrey Pines.
Last year’s team lost in the second round of CIF playoffs and did not qualify for the regional tournament.
At the beginning of the season, Simon said the team’s goal was to make it as far as they could in CIF.
The team exceeded even her expectations, as they were the first Wolverine squad to make it to the regional semifinals since 2000.
Now, the team is eager to get back and get even further.
“Next year, we are all hoping to win the CIF title,” Moustafa said. “And hopefully the regional title too.”
The team ended the year with a record of 16-3 (8-0 league).
