Girls Tennis Finishes Season with a Bang

Competing in its first CIF final since 1994, the San Dieguito Academy girls tennis team faced off against Cathedral High School, Tuesday October 31. Although the match may not have ended in their favor, making it this far in the competition was a huge success for many.

“All of us were really excited for the match,” said senior Sophia Zhu. “The girls’ tennis team has never made it to CIF finals before and now we’re in Div. I so it was definitely a big moment for everyone when we beat La Costa Canyon on Monday (10/30) and advanced. It was also our last team match of the season, so above everything, we wanted to enjoy ourselves on the court and give it our all.”

The night featured tough competition from Cathedral, but the Mustangs did not back down.

“Cathedral was a very tough team. Overall I️ know that everyone did their absolute best and tried as much as they could, but Cathedral was better,” said freshman Lauren Rose.

Despite the challenge, the Mustangs remained competitive throughout the match. The highlight of the  night was an outstanding performance by the doubles team of Kennedy Urcelay and Lauren Bear who won all three of their matches.

Both Urcelay and Bear competed in league play making it to the semi final round. The two are also qualified to compete in CIF as a doubles team.

Lauren Rose and Indya Nespor also qualified for CIFs as a doubles team. Both Rose and Nespor are this year’s league champions for doubles and our now seeded third for CIF, which will begin Wednesday November 8th.

“I’m absolutely thrilled that we’re going to be competing if CIFs,” said Rose. I️ am honestly slightly stunned we have been doing as well as we have, as neither Indya nor I️ had played much of any doubles all season so I️ didn’t know what to expect. I️ do think that Indya and I️ have a shot at winning if we really play well, so my overall goal would be to win the CIFs for doubles. It should be fun.”

For many, this season reflects hard work and success for the tennis team. However, for the girls tennis team the ultimate victory wasn’t competing in the Division I championship game–it was the fun, meaningful experiences that brought them to that point in the first place.

“It’s about the journey, and I think our team has really taken that to heart,” said Zhu. “We’ve had kind of a roller coaster ride, being in tough league, but the most memorable parts are the triumphs when we had our heads truly in the game, played well, and knew it. I’ve loved being a part of SDA tennis for my four years of high school, and I can’t ask for anything more than the memories on and off the court with the amazing individuals I’ve gotten to play with.”