By Owen Lewis
With a 10-0 undefeated season and a states-qualifying doubles team, you could say that the East Girls Varsity Tennis Team is on fire.
Cheesy puns aside, they have had a great season, not only in terms of matches, but in terms of teamwork. Although large for a tennis team, everyone got along well, and many a team bondings were held to drink bubble tea or in preparation for bake sales. Practices were always fun, with plenty of joking and yelling to team mates across the courts. And, of course, there was endless team spirit during matches, from their beginning chant of “East is Beast!” down to the enthusiastic cheers for the last girls on the court.
“The kids just have to keep doing what they are doing and taking each match one at a time,” said Coach Dave Monkarsh to the Amherst Bee. At ECIC’s (Erie County Interscholastic Conference), Olivia Bakshi and Serena Fan played first and second singles respectively, with Richelle Yu and Kareena Cheruvu as the first doubles team and Anna Lin and Maler Suresh as second doubles. All of the starting lineup had an undefeated record during the season, and they brought the same play to this tournament. First singles won her first three matches before losing a tough match to East Aurora. Second singles began with a difficult opponent right out of the gate, and split sets before losing 6-1, 5-7, 6-0. Second doubles also had a close second match with Williamsville North, winning the first set 7-6, but losing the next two 6-4, 6-2.
Meanwhile, first doubles won all their matches before finally losing to Clarence, but they were among the top teams headed for Sectionals. After winning at sectionals, Yu and Cheruvu went all the way to States in Albany. There, they lost their match, but they played well against skilled competition, and they were glad to have an exciting experience there. At the upcoming banquet, the whole team will be there to celebrate their success. Until next fall, go flames!
