The girls tennis team has continued their impressive performance from previous years in the 2024 season. With long-time head coach Bill Shine retiring last spring, the decorated role of the head coach fell upon Francis Sargeant. Sergeant was a former Stanford and UC Berkeley assistant coach, as well as an NCAA Division I collegiate player at Brigham Young University. He has done an excellent job stepping in with the Knights, capturing a Challenge Cup victory against Monte Vista High School in a rematch of last year’s CCS and NorCal finals. The Knights also got sixth place out of 32 teams in the Golden Gate Classic, which took place Sept. 8-9. Their record stands at 8-5 after facing strong southern California teams at the Point Loma Classic in San Diego Sept. 27-28.
Despite their five losses thus far, the team remains confident. “[The team] hasn’t gotten off to the best start that we could’ve hoped for, but last season we had a similar situation and we finished with the NorCal title,” sophomore Allison Zhou said.
Sargeant believes a strength of the team is their camaraderie and spirit. “I’ve noticed it at some of our away matches,” Sargeant said. “Our girls are way louder, they’re cheering more than the other teams.”
Looking ahead, the girls will need to compete fiercely to defend their NorCal title. “Every year is different and you have to treat every year in a different way — but it’s a strong group of girls,” Sargeant said. “Will we have opportunities to win? Absolutely, so it’s whether we take them or not.”
The Knights look to succeed in the West Bay Athletic League with a match against rival Sacred Heart Preparatory at home on Tuesday, Oct. 8.
