Girls’ Tennis Wrap Up: Recapping MVALs
By Mikayla Weiss, Staff Writer
Game, Set, Season! Varsity Girls Tennis wraps up another great year! The team closed out with an 8W-12L record. They had a great season this year, making many memories and having a ton of fun.
The tennis team was invited to the Logan tournament at the beginning of the season. This is where they face teams that ended up playing in the D1 Team Championship tournament. The MVAL Tournament ended the season, where singles and doubles matches were played. Junior Heera Murray, advanced to the second round of MVALs.
Murray said, “MVALS was very difficult, especially because most of our team played seeded – very high-ranking – players. I won my first match during MVALS and went back that week to play the highest-ranked player in our division. It was a very challenging match, and I greatly value the experience and practice I got from it.”
The whole team practiced really hard this season, putting in the hours and playing the matches. The team practiced for 8 hours a week, Monday through Thursday at Fremont Tennis Center, since Moreau Catholic doesn’t have tennis courts. They had so much fun while working hard, improving every day. The best thing to do is to keep playing, even if you’re losing. Focus on the point being played and win them one at a time.
Senior Rhea Raj, who plays varsity singles and serves as team captain, is proud of all the moments the Moreau Catholic tennis team made this season.
“Physically, we practiced consistently and worked on both technique and fitness. Mentally, a lot of us focused on staying positive, visualizing our matches, and reminding ourselves to have fun and not overthink mistakes,” she said.
“This tennis season, the girls worked really hard, and I noticed major improvement from every single one of the JV and var players,” Heera Murray said.
However, it’s not all about practicing and training every day.
“The mental battle is a huge part of the game,” said Murray.
Enny Wang, a sophomore on varsity, agrees with Murray.
“I think I was pretty nervous going into MVALs, and that really affected my performance. I think I really needed to improve my mental to be more competitive,” Wang said.
Next season, the tennis team will come back stronger than ever. Coach Flor encouraged the girls to continue playing in tournaments to improve their UTRs during the off-season.
“Next season, we want to keep building on this momentum — stay confident, push ourselves even more, and keep that close team bond. We’re excited to grow individually and together, and hopefully go even further in MVALs next year!” Raj said.
Overall, the season was full of improvement and fun. The girls look forward to coming back next season.