This was a year of many firsts for the Cerritos High School (CHS) Girls Varsity Tennis team. On November 18th, the girls played in the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section (CIFSS) semi-finals, which marked the first time in the histry of Cerritos girls tennis that the team made it to the CIF semi-finals two years in a row. Three days later, the team arrived at the Claremont Club, a venue consisting of 29 tennis courts, to battle Buckly High School in its first Division 4 championship match.
From the get-go, the match was tightly contested. In the first round, Taylor Heath, the number one singles player for CHS, fought hard in her opening game. The setpoint was a grueling rally lasting 24 hits, involving cross court shots, drop shots, and slices. However, in the end, she lost the point but the rest of the team picked her up as it tied in the first round 3-3.
During the second round, the girls from CHS continued to fight hard. In one match, several exciting moments took place as the volleyers from both teams went after each other, hitting quick shot after quick shot right at each others’ bodies. With lightning quick reflexes and pinpoint precision, both girls at the net amazingly were able to maintain a rally at the net. A mistake by the Buckely volleyer led to an easy overhead smash which hit her in the thigh to finally end the dramatic point. Unfortunately, the CHS doubles team lost the set and the rest of the team faltered, leading to a 5-7 score heading into the third and final round.
In the third round, CHS fought valiantly to close the gap and pull out a win. The number three doubles team continuously smashed the ball with overheads, causing the volleyer at the net from the opposing team to back up, but the baseline returner was able to save the point with defensive lobs. The CHS doubles team was finally able to put away the point with a shot to the corner of the court. Despite their hard efforts, the CHS girls team was unable to take a desperately needed lead and ended up tying for the round, 3-3, and fell in the championships 8-10.
Michelle Jen, two year varsity junior and a member of the number two doubles team, stated, “[This CIF] was a wonderful experience. CIF definitely brought the team closer and helped the team improve. I can only hope we win next year.”
Karin, the senior co-captain articulated, “[our team] finally achieved what we’ve been working for. We’ve worked hard and it finally paid off as we went to CIF finals. Everyone was doing well in the first round, but as we went on, the opponents got better and we lost…Although we could not win, I am proud of the girls varisty tennis team for working hard and making history by going to finals since no Cerritos High Girls tennis team has ever gone. CIF opened our eyes and…taught us what we lacked…Some last words I would give to the team is to work really hard and be able to visualize finally winning a CIF ring, not just a league medal!”
Finally, the Varisty Tennis Coach, Alvin Kim concluded, “[the team improved as] the first year, we lost in the second round to South Torrance 7-11, then we lost the folling year in the quarters to Rowland by 1 game (9-9). My third year we lost at Santa Ynez 7-11 in the semis. Every year the program has been getting better. If we stick to the pattern we should win next year…though some of us are still recovering from out close finals loss, in the end it was a good season – to put it in simpler terms, it was the best season ever in CHS history.”
Despite the devastating loss, the team is still hopeful for next year and plans to use this experience as a stepping stone to push the team over the hump and be the first Cerritos Girls Tennis team to win the CIF championships. Go Dons!
