The Upper School’s Varsity Tennis Team has run, sliced, and volleyed its way to another successful year, and is looking ahead to next season to strengthen its current weaknesses and build off of its successes.

This year, while the boys’ team fell in the district final, the girls’ team triumphed, advancing to and winning the district championship. 

Commenting on the team’s triumphs and failures in the most recent season, Head Coach Robbie Clause told The Pharcyde: “The girls’ team won districts and got to the finals for the regional competition. We lost in two tiebreakers in a deciding match for the state invitation. So, we’re going to move forward and on next year.”

Coach Clause also paid tribute to some of the tennis team’s players, especially some of the outgoing seniors: “Girls were led at #1 by sophomore Ryan Wuhrman. [I’m] so proud of her for leading by example. Jane Boyland, a senior who will be attending Lehigh University in the fall, was the player who stood up and lead by maturing into her best self. Danielle Lancaster [will] also be missed,” he wrote to The Pharcyde. 

Although Senior Jane Boyland, who made it to the state championship along with Ryan Wuhrman after winning the semi-finals 6-0, 2-6, 10-4, echoed Coach Clause’s words: “I have learned a lot about myself throughout the season, but especially at the state championships… I played my absolute best tennis that day, and it was more rewarding than I could have ever imagined. The communication Ryan and I have earned over the past few months is the reason we made it to the state championship. I feel as though I have made my mark.”

Speaking about the successes of the team this year, senior Danielle Lancaster felt that a lot of the success of the team came from its cohesiveness. She thought the team became really close this year, which was a major contributor to their success. 

However, she believes that next year both teams could focus on closing out their matches better and putting easy games away: “We had a lot of close matches that should not have been so close,” Lancaster elaborated. 

Looking ahead, Coach Clause said that he hopes both teams can be “district champions and more.” He closed by saying that, this year, the boys’ team didn’t have a single returning player and had to learn how to play as a team as the season progressed: “Remember, it’s the will not just the skill [that’s important],” Coach Clause shared.