Junior Emily Zou serving the ball. Photo by Jesaias Benitez.
With a late start to the season, girls tennis had their first match of the season against Medford, on Apr. 13, 2016. Games were previously scheduled for Apr. 4 and 5, but due to poor weather conditions, they were moved to later dates.
The lineup for the match consisted of junior Sam Tso at first singles, senior co-captain and Blue and Gold member Emma Ceplinskas at second singles, and junior Emily Zou at third singles. As for doubles, junior Yuki Cheung and senior Risako Yonetani played first doubles with senior co-captain Sushan Chen and Junior Zanta Ephrem at second doubles.
With a final overall score of 4-1, Malden placed its first win of the season under its belt. Chen stated that “[they did] really for their first game” even though “everyone was really nervous since it was the beginning of the season.” Chen also noted that the communication between the “doubles players worked really well so that they won their games.” She mentioned that the only need for improvement thus far are serves.
In addition, Chen added that the team’s new coach, Julie Fox, has helped to work with the players as a whole and individually, in turn contributing to their win. Fox’s hands on coaching has helped the girls to rack up more wins as they won against Haverhill 3-2 on Apr. 15 and Everett 4-1 on Apr. 18. They currently stand at a record of 3-1with their next match against North Reading on Apr. 27 where the team looks to continue its winning streak.
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