In a quick turn around from their senior night Oct. 2, the RBHS girls’ tennis team began its district play Oct. 8. The girls first defeated Hickman High School (HHS) with a winning score of 9-0, and then moved on to the final round of districts Wednesday Oct. 9 against Blue Valley Southwest High School. By preference of the opposing team to complete the competition more quickly, the girls continued matchplay until they had five out of nine wins for the team rather than finishing the rest of the matches. RBHS clinched a 5-0 victory.
RBHS tennis coach Ben Loeb said the doubles matches were especially strong against HHS. In practice he has focused heavily on improving partner play, specifically through communication, activeness and intensity during points.
“I thought we did some really good things in our doubles,” Loeb said, “like hitting the ball with authority, keeping it in play and finishing a lot of points at the net.”
The Bruins’ wins are the first stepping stone to reach the state championship title. In order to make a run for a sixth consecutive state title, the Bruins must win the team sectionals next week. The sectionals will be Oct. 19 against St. Teresa’s Academy, which coach Ben Loeb said will be a challenge.
The girls’ season has a win-loss record of 19-2. Although the Bruins have an impressive amount of wins, they know not to take their success for granted. Players like sophomore varsity member Abbie Sivaraman strive for continuous improvement.
“The competition is only going to get harder,” Sivaraman said, “but I like districts because I feel less stressed about the outcome, as we have played some of the teams in our district before, so I’m more comfortable. This has been a good opportunity for me to practice playing aggressively, which will help me leading to sectionals and potentially state.”
Varsity tennis consists of six members who play one round of doubles with a partner and one round of singles on their own, against the same opposing team. The order of the top six is based on the skill level the players demonstrate during competitive matches played with other teammates in pre-season, with first singles and first doubles being the highest rank. Sivaraman has played both second and third doubles, and fifth singles during the season, and overall she is happy with her performance but knows there is tough competition ahead. For Sivaraman, part of addressing these challenges is being able to stay invested in rallies and emotionally centered.
Sivaraman is not the only one who knows the score is not the most important factor that matters in the game. Senior varsity player Mary Hose agrees that it’s important to compete rather than focus on results.
“I remind myself that it’s just a game and although I want to win. The outcome has no effect on my life,” Hose said. “This makes me less nervous and allows me to play my best when it counts for a lot.”
Sivaraman’s and Hose’s philosophy is one emulated through team talks led by Loeb. He tells the Bruins to “love the game” instead of loving the score. He said he hopes this is the attitude the girls carry through sectionals and, potentially, to state.
“I think we’ve set up a culture of loving to compete,” Loeb said, “If we focus on competing to the best of our ability and look forward to the opportunities ahead, with that mindset we’ll do well.”
Can outcomes affect the passion you have for competition? Let us know in the comments below.
