On Aug. 29, the Menlo Girls Varsity tennis team kicked off their season with a win in the first Tyler Nii Memorial Tournament hosted by Menlo. Nii was a 27-year-old Archbishop Mitty tennis coach who passed away last January in a tragic skydiving accident in New Zealand. “[Nii] had really good sportsmanship when he was playing, and he was a great coach who was young and enthusiastic,” Menlo Head Tennis Coach Bill Shine said. 

The top three teams in CCS — Menlo, Monte Vista, and Saint Francis — all played in the tournament. Each year going forward, the winners of the West Bay, Santa Clara Valley, and West Catholic athletic leagues will be the competitors in the tournament. Menlo prevailed, beating Monte Vista 7-0 and Saint Francis 4-3.

“It’s definitely an amazing start to the season. Everyone on the team really pulled through in their matches and played their best,” senior Ellen Cho said. Next week, Menlo will compete in their second tournament of the season at Stanford, where there will be even tougher competition, but the team is excited to play, according to Cho.