Varsity girls tennis defeats Rancho Bernardo High School

In a home game against Rancho Bernardo High School, the girls varsity tennis team defeated the Broncos in an 11-7 victory on Tuesday. 

Out of the 18 total games, the team had three rounds of three singles and three doubles. The singles and doubles teams won five of their six matches. The doubles teams were Ella Burchell (12) and Maria Gutierrez Prieto (11), Angie Sun (11) and Lulu Li (9) and Elle Eisenbeis (12) and co-captain Giuliana Ponomarev (10), who dominated their matches by fearlessly attacking volleys and groundies. 

“My strategy is to stay consistent,” Ponomarev said. “I like to hit cross-court and volleys, so the other player doesn’t get it, but we had to change it a couple of times when the opponent figured out our strategy. We tried playing in different formations where one person was in the middle and one was behind them.” 

According to Jan Guevara, head coach of the girls varsity team, the singles players, Sophia Yu (9), Annabelle Liao (9) and Jordan Stack (10) stood out in this match due to their outstanding focus, consistency and control throughout their games. 

Sun, who played three out of the 18 games, also reflected on her performance from the match.  

“I felt like I did a good job staying consistent and keeping my energy up throughout the match,” Sun said. “Even when points got close, I tried to focus on each shot instead of thinking too far ahead. 

Besides technical ability, Sun further recognizes that winning is also determined by team spirit. 

“As a team, I think we did really well supporting each other and keeping a positive attitude on and off the court,” Sun said. “That energy really helped everyone stay focused and confident.” 

Following the team’s strong performance, Guevara expressed her pride in the players’ growth and teamwork. 

“It solidifies my love and passion for the sport, and to see the players just come out with a successful win,” Guevara said. “I think it’s great to see their improvements along the way, and to see them come out on top is just a joy for me.” 

In Guevara’s first year coaching at the school, she has already begun to inspire players through encouragement to help athletes reach their full potential. 

“I’m very pleased about how the tennis team has been doing since I started,” Guevara said. “It’s a young team, and we’re learning a lot, but they’re doing great. They [have] progressed further since day one, and I’m excited to see them play into the off-season.” 

Similar to that approach, Ponomorev explained that one of the more helpful training strategies was “practicing with the boys varsity tennis team.” Building on Guevara’s coaching, Sun noted how Guevara has refined the doubles teams’ strategy at 

“Coach Jan has been advising our doubles teams to be more savvy at the net and to always keep communication strong,” Sun said. “We’ve started using hand signals between serves, so the net player and server are always on the same page, which has really helped us coordinate better. She’s also encouraged us to be more aggressive at the net and not hesitate to take opportunities to finish points.”

Through diligent practice, the team transferred this into their game tactics. 

Although the win is “an indication of their hard work and continuous grinding on the court,” Guevara believes that “the team camaraderie and dynamics [are] really key to a successful win.”  

“This win definitely gives us a lot of confidence going into the rest of the season,” Sun said. “It shows that the work we’ve been putting in during practice is paying off, especially with our communication and net play. It also motivates us to keep improving and stay focused as we head toward CIFs.”