With four wins and  four losses, its safe to say the girls’ varsity tennis team is starting off their season with great momentum and drive. Although a small team with just 12 players, they still manage to come out on top with big wins and better play with each match.

Kamila Mazitova,  a junior whose been on the team since freshman year, commented that because the team is small  they we’re a little more closely knit and they definitely become a little family. It’s definitely different from the large group teams. Although the team consist of only a small amount of players compared to other sports that need at least 14 players such as the girls varsity lacrosse, the tennis team is usually never short of players: “We have positions picked for the lineup of our games so we have regular players but if there is a missing player, another will take the spot for the match,” commented Mazitova.

Zené Ezell, junior, whose played on  the girls’ junior varsity and varsity volleyball as well as basketball expressed that being on a smaller team is a “pretty significant difference.” While basketball and volleyball are viewed as team sports, tennis is seen more as an individual sport with only singles  and doubles matches. “In basketball and volleyball, if you lose, it’s a team loss and you have your fellow teammates around you to share the loss. In tennis, if you lose your match, the entire team could still win if the majority of the matches are won. If you’re the person that lost a match, personally I feel more of a burden than anyone else that played because I feel that my loss in a match could affect whether or not the entire team loses,” Said Ezell.

Although they are a small team, the girls make sure to never miss a practice and practice just as hard as any other team. The girls home court is usually at Walker Park but occasionally they practice at CSI from about 3 to 5. For these two hours they girls work on their serves which is key in matches for leads and also do some drills that involve agility, a main component of tennis. When asked about practice with a small team, Ezell commented that “During practice we can work with everyone equally and improve our skills while having lots of fun at the same time.”

Although this is her first year on the team,  Ezell expressed that so far, the season has been off to a great start- “we’re third in the island behind Tottenville and Tech. We beat New Dorp but lost to Wagner but I think with a little more practice we’ll be able to beat those teams and remain third in standings.”