Chelmie Hyppolite also contributed to this article.
Ace! Slice! Bagel! Malden High’s Girls’ tennis team was quite the success against the Somerville Highlanders on their senior night, which took place on May 16th, 2025. Even though it was a fierce competition, the girls’ tennis team was able to push through it, ending the night with wonderful memories to look back on.
Before Somerville arrived, the seven seniors of the team—Sarah Pham, Isabelle Tan, Julianna Lin, Sofi Le, Amber Benfield, Marie Cheng, and Ivana Marinkovic—took pictures with their family and friends. At 4:25, tennis coach Cheryl Camassa had both teams line up on the court to start the brief ceremony, congratulating the seniors and handing them flowers. She also introduced the players who were playing doubles and singles, ending her speech with a “good luck” to both teams.
Coach Camassa then led the team in a pep talk about loving these moments for the seniors. Finishing up, they put their rackets in the middle, and Captain Tan led the chant, “M-M-M-A-L-D-D-D-E-N, M-A-L-D-E-N, GO MALDEN!”
On the first court, Marinkovic was in the first singles match; second court and singles was captain Lin; followed by captain Tan as the last single; Captain Pham and Le were the first doubles; and Cheng and Benfield as the second doubles.
Within the first set, Marinkovic certainly had her head in the game, winning 5 games in a row. She ended her first set quickly, winning a ‘bagel’, meaning 6-0. In her second set, she was consistent, getting point after point, winning game after game, and having a final set with another ‘bagel’!
“I felt very confident with my consistency in both the first and second sets. I think that my serves have shown improvement during tonight’s match,” Marinkovic mentioned.
Captain Lin also did excellently in her matches, having a bagel in her first set. However, in the second set, she “got a little bit tired,” though she did end up winning 6-2. She added, “I do wish that I could have won six in a row… But my opponent was really good, she was super sweet, too, and it’s just a great experience.”
Captain Tan, like the other singles players, did excellently. But, Tan felt that her “performance in the first set was better than my second” since she was less tired. She also mentioned that it was difficult due to the hot weather and the sun shining in her eyes, but she was able to push through it, winning 6-3 in the first set and 6-1 in the second set.
The doubles team of Pham and Le had a fierce competition, with points going back and forth between each team. Le commented on how the first set was fun and felt good. Pham mentioned how being with Sofi as her doubles partner, she thought that her “mental definitely got better.” At the end of the first set, they won 6-4. The second set was also a close score between the two teams. Le commented, “Second set, we were kind of scared.” Even though they felt this way, they won 7-5.
The last doubles team was Cheng and Benfield. The competition was tough for them, Benfield shared, “The first set, I got really emotional because I was kind of stressed out, because I felt like I had a lot of pressure on me to do well, but my friends, they kept me supported.” Though they were trying their hardest, they unfortunately lost 6-0 in the first set and 6-1 in the second set, but they still held their heads high.
After the matches finished up, they celebrated their win with pizza and soda, taking a group picture to show off their triumphant night.
While many good things happened, it’s also good for the players and the coaches to reflect on such a special night for the seniors. Coach Camassa shared, “This year was special with my seniors, and they will be missed. We had a special bond over the past four years because I also coached most of them during the volleyball season.”
Marinkovic felt very grateful to be able to experience such amazing efforts from the underclassmen, commenting, “Experiencing senior night was incredible…The way that our underclassmen organized the event for the seniors was so special, and I appreciate their efforts so much.”
Captain Pham felt sad, and she said that she would miss the team and the memories that she’s made. “It was actually really fun. I guess it differs from volleyball, just because this is actually like the end of my school year as well. Once I get out of this, there won’t be any more high school.”
As captain, Tan hopes that the underclassmen can “have fun and bring a speaker for music!” Le added, “I hope they learn that it takes perseverance and a lot of practice.” Similarly, Benfield also believes in just keep it going, “even if you’re down, even by a lot, that at the end of the day, it’s just a game and just to have fun.”
Being on a team for years, there’s no doubt about the many memories that each player has made. For Lin, every season was incredible, but the first year she played was her favorite year, because it was her sophomore year, and the seniors, sophomores, juniors, were “super inclusive.” She continued, “We had a lot of team bonding. The first year was just like a new experience.”
A notable match Le has fond memories of was the matches against Somerville and Waltham, because they were really good opponents.
Pham mentioned that she started to play tennis because she wanted to get the gym waiver. “Mr. Sou actually got me into it. It was when he was still a teacher at Salemwood, and I really am thankful to him because he was the one who taught me two weeks before tryouts.”
For Le, her friends encouraged her to try out her Junior year and she was able to make it to varsity. Similarly, Benfield’s friends also encouraged her to try out as well, and she stayed on it too because she “liked it and I enjoyed it.”
“I started playing tennis in the second grade. It was just my dad, a SpongeBob racket, and a basket of balls early every weekend for two to five hours. I never saw myself pursuing tennis as it was just a fun weekend hobby. It then got to the point where I was like ‘I’m pretty good, might as well try out for the high school team,’” Concluded Tan.
