Mira Costa Girls Varsity Tennis fell short against Palos Verdes on October 21, losing their match 10 to 8. The game stayed close throughout both singles and doubles, but the Mustangs couldn’t quite pull through in the end.
The singles matches started off rough, with Mia Sandblom and Malia Fernandez dropping their first sets 6 to 2 and 6 to 4. Momentum picked up when Sienna Chun and Fernandez earned wins of 6 to 0 and 7 to 5. A few more losses from Chun and some wins from Sandblom and Fernandez kept things close, but Costa was unable to secure the overall victory in singles.
“During practice, we prepare by playing challenge matches and doing a lot of drills,” said junior Lua Rocha. “We try to focus on what we need to improve on so we can do better in our next match.”
Doubles play brought mixed results. Charlee Rainey and Caitlin Kawalec lost their first match 6 to 4, while Allison Ho and Allison Chin fell short 7 to 6 (8 to 6) and 6 to 0. However, Ava Panah and Calista Chun delivered consistent wins, taking all three of their matches 6 to 3. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to overcome Palos Verdes overall.
“Sometimes we play tough teams that we lose to again, so we strive to do better next time individually and as a team,” said Rocha.
Even though Costa lost, the team showed strong effort and isn’t letting one setback define their season. Many of the sets were close, demonstrating both skill and room for growth.
` “I think our team played very strong,” said Rocha. “PV is a very good team, so I think we did our best considering. I saw a lot of good tennis overall.”
Despite the close loss, the team is focused on improving their skills and finishing the season strong. They also hope to strengthen their team chemistry, knowing that building trust off the court helps performance on it.
“Something we could improve on is maybe more team bonding,” Rocha said. “It can be hard when the season is very competitive and school adds pressure, but we’ve had some fun bonding events already, and I’m really looking forward to team bonding at Knott’s Scary Farm.”
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