Returning last year from a 10-6 overall season with only two losses to MCAL teams Marin Catholic and Redwood, the Tamalpais High School girls varsity tennis team (4-0) feels like they have something to prove this year. Beginning the year undefeated with wins over San Marin (5-4), Marin Academy, Montgomery High in Santa Rosa, and Marin Catholic (8-1) isn’t a bad way to start the trend. Marin Catholic and Redwood High Schools have been two nemeses for Tam in the past, but Tam believes that they’re the team to beat. In nine matches on September 8 against Marin Catholic, the Tam girls dominated by winning eight of them. The team also placed 14th in the Fresno Tournament out of one hundred and twenty-two teams on September 12. In the match against San Marin on September 15, junior Liza Brusman’s opponent Emily Wilmore was forced to retire due to injury after being beaten 6-0 in the first set and down 5-0 in the second. To say the least, Brusman was bringing her A game. Other scores included freshman Lani Tice (T) over Gelleri (SM) 6-0, 6-2, Hillary Fazekas (T) defeated Heiler (SM) 6-1, 6-3, and Essie Winer/Alex Goldstein (T) defeated Raven/Cantor (SM) 6-3, 6-0.

Senior Tai-Lan Hirabayashi, one of the four captains (the others being seniors Alex Goldstein, Olivia Leary and Zoe Arthur) said that one of the main factors that has attributed to their immediate success is their great amount of incoming talent.

“[The team has] some really good incoming freshman this year including Mikaila Smith, Stasha Anderson, and Lani Tice,” said Hirabayashi. After losing their number-one player last year, Emily Prescott, along with singles players Megan Schuler, Adrian Foley, and Anna Aronowitz, maintaining that level of talent will be no easy task. However, the team as well as coach Bill Washauer feels that they are up for the challenge.

Sophomore Chelsea Hayashi added, “We’ve had some solid wins and we have had great team spirit.”

Anderson said “My main goals are to bring energy, enthusiasm, and pride to the team. Another aspect to the instant success is that the practices are showing results. Rice said, “We are doing a lot of drills with ladders as well as practice matches and volley drills. It’s all about consistency. We want to be the team that is aggressive and not afraid to move up to the net.”

“We are improving a lot in that we are practicing at least fourteen hours a week.” Andrewson said.

Not only does the girls tennis team have new talent, but they also have as many as five returning players that have been ranked in the top one hundred players by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) in their age group.

Though it’s always nice to have some key players, a team is nothing without chemistry. Even more important, Goldtein stated, was putting the team before the inuvidual.

Goldstein, along with other seniors Olivia Leary and Tai-Lan Hirabayashi believe that the new courts will do wonders for their team. “With the new courts, I hope to see a lot more support for the team from Tam students,” Hirabayashi said.