Update as of 09/01/2012: Niles North Girls tennis turn tables and win both of their matches against Fenton on October 31st, and Elmwood Park on September 1st.
Update: Girls Varsity tennis played a close match against North Shore Country Day on October 28, 2012 losing to the school by a small margin of 2-3. The match was determined by the last game played in the final set by North’s number one singles player, Senior Captain Rupal Desai, against number one singles competitor from North Shore Country Day, Annie Morris. After a three and a half hour match between the two that was full of injuries for both teams, Niles North faced an unfortunate loss finishing the third set with a score of 4-6.
However, on October 25th, Niles North Girls Tennis worked their way up to fourth place, even with two injured players in the Varsity-Doubles Quad after starting out their season with two unfortunate close losses against St. Viator (3-4) and Niles West (4-3)).
Eight schools were competing in the quad this year: Niles West, North Shore Country Day, Antioch, Leyden, Addison Trail, Lane Tech, and Resurrection. Yet, the Vikings still fought until the end and carried a lot of weight on their shoulders. “I was impressed with how our team performed. The girls are so driven, respond positively to being pushed, and want to get better,” social studies teacher and head coach John Amaro said.
The girls have been practicing during their off-season at private tennis clubs, and attended winter clinics that allowed them to develop new game techniques, and skills to be applied during game-play. “We also continue to work hard during every single practice as if it is our last,” senior Varsity player April Hernandez said.
After losing 9 seniors upon graduating last year Varsity tennis has become more dependent on last year’s players. “Our Varsity team is relying on the strength of last year’s Junior Varsity team. Unfortunately though, our record doesn’t reflect our effort, ability, and my satisfaction with this team,” Amaro commented. However, the team is hoping to turn that around due to their hardworking ethics. Amaro said, “I’d rather have this team that refuses to surrender, but doesn’t always win, than a team that has less drive, but wins come easier.”
The girls are so strong and motivated since they have two fierce competitors and strong leaders as their captains, Senior Rupal Desai and Senior Dianne Maglaque. “As a captain, I’ll be able to use my experience [of three years on Varsity] to guide the team with leadership and keep them smiling a lot more even after losses,” Desai said.
Both captains and coaches believe that they have great potential to have a winning season this year since they are already a family. Also, because “the coaches are amazing and give me the up most confidence to play and have a great season,” Hernandez said.
Girls Tennis Junior Varsity has been pointing to a promising future since this year’s team is bolstered by a strong freshman class. The JV girls boast a record of 3-1 so far.
“Our JV coaches, Andy Klamm and Sandy Wilson, are putting in a lot of time to lay a foundation for the Varsity team,” Amaro said. “New coach Tim Naatz on Varsity is a positive coach with whom I am happy and lucky to be working.”
