By Stephanie Pham
On Thursday, Nov. 10, Fountain Valley High School’s girls’ varsity tennis team went up against Palm Desert High School in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Southern Section playoffs. The Lady Barons fought hard, managing an outstanding victory over the top-seeded Aztecs with a final score of 12-6. With this success, FVHS girls’ tennis team moves on to the CIF finals on Friday, Nov. 11.
“I thought it was going to go down to the wire,” head coach Harshul Patel said. “But the way we finished the first round, 5-1 up… it’s an incredible feeling. From there, we knew we had it.”
Senior captain Melody Hom and Freshman Kendra Ly, No. 2 doubles, displayed incredible teamwork, winning all three matches. They scored 6-3 in the first round, 6-1 in the second round and 6-4 in the third round, keeping a positive and determined mindset throughout the whole game.
Although Hom and Ly played phenomenal in all three of their sets, they weren’t the only team to showcase their abilities on the court. Doubles No. 3, junior Sophie Vu and sophomore Katie Lam showed the payoff of all their practice, winning all three of their rounds with scores of 6-1 in the first set, a closer call in the second game with 7-6 and finishing strong with 7-5 in the third set.
When doubles No. 1, senior Captain Rene Do and sophomore Anh Thu Truong faced off against Palm Desert, the excitement was immense. With Do’s accuracy and Truong’s persistent attitude, they managed to win two out of three rounds. They made a great approach, winning the first set 6-2, and then continued to advance in the second set with a 6-3 victory.
At the same time, freshman Jaslyn Nguyen showed outstanding perseverance in her singles matches. With her powerful serves, Nguyen won her first set, 6-1 and continued to win her second set with a score of 6-4, defaulting a win in the last round.
“It was just an honest shock to me,” Nguyen said. “This was one of the best matches I’ve ever played.”
On the other side of the court, junior Gisele Rico started off strong with her signature backhand hits, winning the first set with a score of 7-6. Unfortunately, Rico went down 4-6 in the second set and ended up defaulting to a loss in the third round. Despite the loss, spirits were high as the team continued playing together.
“They’ve been down, emotions high, emotions, low, but they kept going through every point,” Patel said. “They believed in themselves and they supported each other as a part of the team, which is one of the best things to have.”
Finals take place on Friday, where the FVHS girls’ varsity tennis team faces No. 2 seeded Beverly Hills in the finals match at the Claremont Cup.
