On Thursday, April 20, the girls tennis team took on the Portage Indians at home. The Indians were defeated 6-2 in the first set and lost in a tie break 4-7. This was the first DAC of the season for the girls.
“I won my match 6-0 6-1. Claire [Gronek (11)] won her match in straight sets, but we lost our other three positions, one dubs and two dubs and three singles. It was kind of disappointing to face that defeat, but it’s a lot harder to win conference as a team. Our main goal is to win Sectionals,” Kristina Tinsley (12) said.
Other team members thought the game went well, despite the loss.
“I thought the game was played well. Even though we were defeated, we put up a great fight against Portage. I’m hoping we can improve and learn from this loss so we’ll be able to prepare for Sectionals,” Colette Oboy (11) said.
All players remained calm under the loss they faced. Lauren Gronek (12) explains how she’s learned to cope with big losses throughout her high school tennis career.
“I’ve been playing on the varsity tennis team for the past three seasons. I had a really bad mental game when I first started out. If I started to lose I’d get really upset. I’d feel the pressure of being self-defeated really harshly. This season I can feel how much I’ve grown mentally as a player. I find myself more positive and I can do better in high-pressure situations. Even though we lost today, I’m able to take it as a learning experience and focus on heading to sectionals,” Gronek said.
