On Thursday, Sept. 25, in their seventh league game, Woodside varsity girls tennis and El Camino faced off at Woodside. The Wildcats emerged remaining undefeated.

“I’m really happy with my team. They’re all really nice people, and they’re all super into team spirit and team connection, especially our team captains,” singles 1, Malia Furukawa said. “They’re doing really well. I think they’re really hardworking and will do great this season.

When it comes to playing smart and adjusting to their opponents, Furukawa does a good job of changing her playstyle to better defeat her opponents. 

“I realized that her backhand wasn’t that good, so I targeted her weaknesses,” Furukawa said. “I tried fixing my mistake of coming to the net too often.” 

Their coaches say that the varsity girls tennis has been working very hard not only as players but as a team, bringing spirit and tenacity to their game and team. Listening to their coaches and overall putting their best effort is really showing in their game.

“Each match that has [been] played has shown me even more and more the amount of potential that these girls have,” tennis coach Lauren Denneburg said. “That, little by little, they’re really buying into a lot of the things that we’re trying to get them to do.”

Not just in their spirit but their game as well, Coach Lauren identifies some important skills the girls’ team has been working on.

“They’re not … executing it as well as we’d like them to, … trying to lift from the baseline,” Coach Lauren said. “A lot of the drills that Coach Kim has been working [on with them,] have been [lifting from the baseline]. Just trying to get them to keep the ball in play and be smart, not going for the wrong shot when you’re back [at the baseline].” 

According to the coaches, after seeing potential skills to work on after every game, the Woodside tennis players like to take the time to brush up and fix their weaknesses in practice. 

“I plan to address the problem of going up to the net too early and also just trying to maintain a more positive attitude after I make a mistake,” Furukawa said.

The girls varsity tennis team has seen nothing but victories so far in the season, and they are hoping to improve on their game as a team and to keep their spirits high.

“With each match they’re showing us that they’re improving and that they’re coachable,” Denneburg said.