Defeating Seoul Foreign School (SFS) for the second time this season, the varsity girls tennis team won every match in the home game held on Oct. 1, thus winning with a total score of 5-0. This game marks a key distinction from previous seasons, when SFS went undefeated at the KAIAC league.
The girls took the lead early on, with Ashley Park (12), co-captain and first singles player, winning her match with a score of 8-1. Claire Kim (10), second singles player, and Amy Ryu (12), co-captain and third singles player, also defeated their opponents with scores of 8-2 and 8-3, respectively. In the doubles matches, the first doubles pair, Cinji Lee (9) and Sarah Kim (10), ended the match with 8-2, while the second doubles pair, Patricia Song (11) and Erica Choi (9), was also victorious with a score of 8-6. According to Ashley, the support from her teammates was instrumental in providing her the motivation to persevere through the match.
“There were several tiring rallies,” Ashley said. “When rallies stretch on for a long time, the player who is able to focus until the end emerges as the victor. [My teammates] cheering on the sidelines helped me to become more energetic and fully commit to the match so that I could beat my opponent.”
Simultaneously, the varsity boys tennis team lost in a closely contested match, winning two out of five matches. Playing first, Cody Kim (11), co-captain and first singles player, was defeated with a score of 5-8. Though Michael Sun (11), co-captain and second singles player, and Joshua Kim (10), third singles player, were able to turn back the tide, ending their matches with scores of 8-2 and 8-4 respectively, the subsequent players were not able to keep up the team’s winning streak. The first doubles pair, Minki Kim (9) and Alexander Joo (11), and the second doubles pair, Andrew Kim (9) and Young Jun Kim (10), were thwarted from victory, with scores of 3-8 and 4-8, respectively. According to Amy Thompson, varsity boys tennis coach, both doubles pairs were going through a transitional period.
“Our doubles pairs are working on their teamwork skills,” Coach Thompson said. “As new pairs, they need time to get used to each other’s playing styles. In practice, they have been focusing on communicating with each other, such as calling the ball.
In preparation for upcoming matches, including the Association of International Schools in Asia (AISA) tournament that will be held from Oct. 16 to Oct. 19 in Osaka, Japan, players plan to focus on further improving their consistency.
“Today, [the girls] were aggressive throughout the match, giving all they had for every point,” Ashley said. “I hope that the players can play like this reliably throughout the rest of the season so that we could get good results [at AISA].”