Varsity Tennis Aces the Season

Zane Rimes, Director of Archives

This upcoming spring marks the 53rd consecutive year of the Lake Highland Tennis Team. With the many questions about the upcoming season, people wonder, who is the biggest team rival? How do tryouts work? Where do you go to compete, and how do you travel there? What are the biggest differences between the girls’ and boys’ teams? Does the team have any notable achievements? Do you have a favorite memory from tennis?

When asked about who the biggest rival to Lake Highland is, Sarah Frinfrock, grade 12, stated, “ Our biggest rival is Bishop Moore Catholic High School because they are the best competitor in our district. We beat them at the 2022 District Championship, but they beat us in 2021.” stated Sarah. Nico Gompel, grade 12, was asked how tryouts work. In response, he said, “Tryouts are about three days, and our coach measures all the players to see where they stack up. Our lineup is determined through challenge matches, where the players play each other to see who will be at the top of our lineup. The lineup consists of five singles players and two doubles.” Since the tennis team is combined with both boys and girls, J.J. Weltman, grade 12, stated, “There aren’t really any differences between the girl’s and guys’ teams. We all travel to matches together and play the same schools.”

What is the team’s most notable achievement? Nico Gompel responded with, “Our team the last two years has made regional finals, and one of our players has made States each of the last three years as a singles player. We are one the best teams in the entire state class. We are hoping to continue this year by reaching states for the first time this year as a team. This is definitely our best opportunity to do so.”

The favorite memory among the team varied among different people. “ My favorite memory was when our entire team drove to Berkeley Prep, about two hours away, just for the match to be canceled when we got there. We all got Chick-fil-a on the way there and played games on the bus since we weren’t actually playing a match,” said Sarah. Nico continued, “My favorite memory last year was during Districts. After we won Districts, I told my team that I would get dumped with ice water after we won. And so I did, and it was recorded on the social media page. This year I expect greater things from myself as a player, and to add to this list of great memories.” J.J. said, “My favorite memory from the team is celebrating after our District’s win last year.” The way the team works hard and has their creativity to show off and have, great chemistry together as a team is amazing and shows what teamwork really means for Lake Highland’s Tennis Team. This year everyone looks forward to hearing what’s next for the Lake Highland’s Tennis Team and everyone hopes to bring home another win for this year’s Districts. Go Highlanders!

(Above) The 2022 District Tournament shows how the teams work very hard at competitions. Brackets can be very long, but it is all worth it in the end goal for taking home the District trophy. All Photos by of Sarah Frinfrock. (All Photos by of Sarah Frinfrock.)
(Above) Last year’s District championship was a win for Lake Highland. The team had different brackets to go through and prevailed, proving their hard work could beat Bishop Moore.