WICHITA, Kan.—
The Southeast tennis players may have had some tough matches throughout this season, but they pushed through and gave it their all. They attended practice every day after school, went to all the tournaments, and each day they got closer as a team.“We lost a lot of matches, but we grew as a team. We worked on every little thing we could,” captain Ping Tran said.
Team unity seemed to be a big part of their season. Whether it was giving each other a helpful tip during practice, or being there to cheer on the rest of their team during a tournament.
“The highlight of this season was team bonding. Us girls got really close,” Anh Do said.
Just like any other sport, they had rivals. Kapaun, Bishop Carroll, and Heights were a few opposing teams the players were challenged by. Every girl had their own opinion on who they thought was the hardest to defeat.
“I’d say South was my biggest competition because their team was built around the same time as ours. They aren’t known for their tennis team, and neither are we, so I really wanted to prove that we could beat them,” Alyssa Cooley said.
For many of the girls, playing on the team was their first time ever playing the sport. That meant they had to learn how to serve, position the ball, and all the rules in a few short months.
“My biggest challenge was having to play against really good girls who have had many years of experience,” Tram Ngo said.
Overall, this season was full growth, bonding, and improvements
