Girls’ Varsity Tennis played Northwood and won 13-5 on Oct. 1, continuing their strong performance this year. 

Currently, the Lightning have a 8-4 season record.

To start the season, Sage Hill played against Crean Lutheran on Aug. 21. From the first serve and subsequent rally, the Girls’ Varsity Tennis season began with a pop. After a hard-fought battle, the girls ultimately lost with a match score of 9-9, as they had fewer overall victories in games.

The hard practice the team put in during the offseason, paired with the new freshmen, prepared the team to face any challenges they might encounter. 

“We are a young team,” Girls’ Tennis Head Coach Whit Kenerson said. “We have four freshmen and four seniors. We are learning a lot right away, and we have to learn a lot to win. The kids are working really hard, so we should be OK.” 

On Aug. 22, the team played their second game against Edison High School and dominated the match. They finished with a score of 17-1, demonstrating their individual skills and teamwork. The team displayed their prowess again when they played against Los Alamitos on Aug. 27, finishing the game 16-2.

The girls went on to play Laguna Hills High School on Aug. 29. The team secured another astounding victory by winning with a score of 18-0.

In the next few matches, the team lost to San Juan Hills 10-8, won against Pacific Christian 18-0, lost to Santa Margarita 11-7, beat La Quinta High School with a score of 16-2, triumphed over Canyon High School 14-4, and crushed Cypress High 15-3.

After the match against Cypress, Junior Ella Wong shared the major factors that influenced their victory.

“When we played Cypress, we had a lot of back-to-back matches, which allowed us to be at the top of our game that entire week,” Ella said. “The year before, we barely beat Cypress (10-8), so I think we all wanted a decisive victory, which motivated us to come out strong and determined.” 

Kenerson and Ella both shared some of their goals for this season.

“I am most excited to bond with the team and win some matches. I am really excited to compete and hopefully go forward in CIFs,” Ella said.

“Our first goal is always to make CIFs. It’s tough in our league; there are four top-10 teams, so we have to do well outside of league to make up for that,” Kenerson said.

Their next home match is against Irvine on Oct. 7.