Girls’ tennis takes third at California Peach Tree Tournament in Fresno

Armed with ice packs, towels and countless coolers filled with ice water bottles, Gatorade and Pedialyte, the girls’ varsity tennis team arrived in one of the hottest cities in the state earlier this month, ready to take on the best teams in the state.

After four hard-fought matches, the Falcon brought back a third place finish at the annual California Peach Tree Classic Tournament in Fresno on Sept. 5-7. The team was seeded No. 2 heading into the tournament and faced powerhouse teams such as Santa Barbara High School and Menlo High School.

The team’s first match was against the local Bullard High School from Fresno. After a short two and a half hours, Saratoga had won all seven matches against the Knights.

“Even though we had an easy victory in the first round, we knew we couldn’t let our guard down,” said senior Smita Sabada, who plays No. 1 singles and is one of the team captains.

Later that day, the Falcons played Monte Vista High School from Danville, who had barely beaten St. Francis High School.

As the temperature rose above 100 degrees, the girls struggled to stay focused and alert. But with cheering and support from their teammates, coaches and parents, all three doubles teams won. Freshman No. 4 singles player Dasee Carter also won her match 6-1, 6-0, giving the Falcons a 5-2 win.

Though the Mustangs showed their frustration by using inappropriate language and calling the Falcons demeaning names, the Falcons remained respectful and displayed good sportsmanship.

“The other team was clearly very upset about their loss, but their rude behavior was very uncalled for,” Sabada said.

The next morning, the girls arrived at Copper River Country Club and learned that they would be facing Santa Barbara High School. Though the Falcons remained both confident and focused, they struggled to keep the same composure as they had the day before.

After more than three hours of nerve-wracking and anxious onlooking by the coaches and parents, the girls failed to win four games to take the match. No. 2 doubles junior Yu Karen Asai and freshman Stephanie Ren won 6-2, 6-4, and No. 3 doubles juniors Shireen Hagshenas and Meera Rachamallu won 6-3, 6-2. However, that was not enough, as No. 1 doubles and three singles players were defeated. The Falcons lost to the Santa Barbara Dons 4-3.

“Even though we lost in the semis, I am still so proud of the team for giving it our all,” Sabada said. “We showed great sportsmanship, had a positive mindset and used excellent technique.”

The girls decided to put the loss behind them and recollect themselves to fight for the third place match against long-time rival Menlo High School. Menlo had taken home many tournament championships in the past year, and is known for  its high-ranked and fierce players.

Pumped with aggressiveness mixed with a smidge of anger from the previous loss, the Falcons took the courts once more. This time, two doubles pairs and two singles players were victorious over their opponents. Junior No. 3 singles player Shaya Nikfar won her match 6-0, 6-2, and Carter won her match 6-2, 6-0.

Now back playing at home, the team is training four days a week in preparation for its upcoming De Anza League matches.

The Falcons have already been victorious against another strong team in the league, Los Altos, beating them 6-1 on Sept 16. Due to printing deadlines, the match against Monta Vista on Sept. 25 could not be covered in the print edition of The Falcon.

The team will also be hosting the Battle of the Bay tournament on Oct. 3-4. Teams competing in this local tournament include St. Francis, Miramonte, Amador Valley and San Ramon Valley.