Barons overcome Blazers tennis

BLAIR TENNIS COURTS, Sept. 5—

The girls' tennis team (1-1) lost, 1-6, against Bethesda-Chevy Chase (2-0) in Blair's first home game of the season. The superior competition and the Blazers' difficulty hitting the balls over the nets were major contributors to the loss.

The first match to finish was the first singles, where sophomore Leslie Chen lost 0-6 in both sets. Though Chen's serves were consistent and backhand strokes precise, she admitted that the skill of her opponent was daunting. "Going into the game, I knew it would be a tough match because the girl I'm playing is the best on their team," Chen said.

Second singles Allison Whitney also faced tough competition with a final score of 3-12. Like Chen, Whitney felt outmatched by the skill level of her opponent. "[My opponent] shot a lot of really good angles and she also hit a lot of spins, which isn't something I'm very used to," Whitney said.

The doubles teams faired similarly. In a tense game that lasted for two and a half hours, the first doubles match required a third set after Blazers won the first and Barons won the second. Blair couldn't pull through in the tiebreaker, however, and none of the doubles teams secured a win.

The only overall win occurred for senior Janvi Raichura. During the first set in the third singles match, Raichura was winning 5-4 when her opponent, Molly Rubel, forfeited due to sickness.

Though Coach David Ngbea admits that the team member's ground strokes need to be improved, he felt that the team's biggest issue was not having the focus needed to keep the ball in motion. "They needed to simply be concerned that you don't want the team to lose, and you'll do anything to get to the ball and keep it in play," he said. "It's more of a mental thing."

Ngbea emphasized the importance of perfecting skills, particularly the forehand and backhand strokes before the team's next game against Whitman. "Supposedly Whitman is stronger than B-CC, so our chances aren't very good unless we can improve," Ngbea said.

Despite the score, Chen felt that the game wasn't a complete loss. "We had long rallies and our games finished with close points," Chen said about her match. Whitney also shared a positive outlook, believing that her opponent's level of skill helped her learn a lot. "Even though it didn't result in a win, playing someone better than you always makes you play better," she said.

Editors Note: Janvi Raichura is a News Editor for Silver Chips Online.

The girls' tennis team will play its next home match against Magruder at 3:30 on Sept.10.