By Kristine Michaels, Special to the Independent
The girls varsity tennis team is back in action and shaping up to form a solid team for the upcoming fall season.
Led by head Coach Don Davis in his second season, the team hopes to emerge once again as undefeated Orange Coast League champions.
One significant change for the Breakers this season is that they will be competing in Division 2 for the post league CIF competition. Davis and the girls will be working hard to develop a team that will be very competitive in CIF this season.
Tryout and practices started last week and will continue until Aug. 31. Match play will begin on Aug. 29 at 3:30 p.m. against Sage Hill on the home courts, and on Aug. 30 away against Mater Dei at 3 p.m. The JV team will be competing on the opposite courts on the same day.
Davis noted that many of the returning girls had improved since last season. He believes the team will have more depth than last year. Seventeen incoming freshman tried out and some will make the varsity squad.
This year’s varsity team will have 10 returning players: juniors Nicole Doiron, Sarah Nederlander, Stephanie Tat, Shawna Yang, Madeline Loomis, and Brooke Michaels; sophomores Bailey Jaeger and Kira Hamilton; and seniors Chloe Mansour and Katelyn Bo.
Brooke and Kira, Chloe and Katelyn, Bailey and Sarah were the top three doubles teams from last season, and Stephanie was the No. 3 singles player based upon the lineup played during CIF.
The young talent will have to step up to makeup for the loss of last season’s top two singles players, Lauren Michaels and Claire Jaeger.
Though the varsity roster has not been determined yet, Davis was excited to see such depth battling for the varsity spots. The freshman candidates included Ashley Shelton, Natasha Keces, Ashley Fair, Natalie Selin, and Jackie Cenan. Also in the mix is senior transfer student Dominique Willette from Costa Rica, whose early years were in Laguna. Her two aunts played tennis for LBHS.
The final roster should be determined next week.
Local parent Kristine Michaels follows tennis.
