AT’s girls tennis team has shown a promising start to the season with a strong showing in September. The tennis team has recently had matches against Hinsdale South, Proviso East, and Leyden, and they currently have a score of 2-1.
Although COVID-19 has affected all sports and activities in many different ways, the tennis girls kept the drive and determination to prepare for the season, even when it wasn’t certain that it would happen.
To begin, the team would collectively meet at a public park over the summer to play and get ready for the upcoming season, all while following the safety guidelines by wearing masks and distancing themselves from each other.
The team was of course very excited once they found out that the season would be taking place after all, though it would be very different in contrast to the previous seasons. In addition to having to keep a safe distance from each other, the girls are also required to regularly get their temperatures checked, wear masks, and they aren’t allowed to share equipment such as tennis balls.
Team captain Emily Stevenson stated: “Although these restrictions can slow things down and make things more challenging, I feel very fortunate that we are able to safely have a season.” Captain Emily Stevenson said. “It is great to be able to go to school and I love that we were able to find a safe way to play so that we wouldn’t miss out on tennis this year. I would be really sad if our sport was canceled and I really feel bad for the sports that are not able to play this fall.”
When questioned about the challenges the team has endured so far, Stevenson mentioned that due to the late start in the season, there wasn’t a whole lot of time to place any of the newer athletes in their proper positions, plus the safety restrictions can be a bit of a hassle, but it’s all worth it to be able to play together. “The safety restrictions slow us down a bit in practice, but they definitely don’t stop us,” She said.
Regardless of the challenges both the girls and the coaches have had to face, the team has had an excellent showing so far this season. The girls Tennis team coach Justin Hegner showed his own excitement regarding his athletes and the season: “I love seeing the girls get better. Whether it is in a match, in a week, in a season, or over their four seasons at Addison Trail. It is amazing to think about how some of them start and how great they become.”
When asked about individual success among his athletes, Hegner stated: “Mia Doudalis and Mia Dravilas are our top two singles players and they have had a good competition at practice to fight for the top spot. They both could play number-one singles on our team and that is a good problem to have.”
The team hopes to go 3-1 in the conference in the coming weeks, meanwhile they plan to keep working hard and doing their best.
Captain Emily Stevenson dives to catch the ball during a match against Willowbrook
