Girls Tennis ‘Aces’ Final League Match

Catherine Li and Sophia Kim | 86 Views

Senior Ayla Alhassen makes an overhead serve which is one of her strongest moves with her partner and senior Leanna Roman. “When I make my first serve and Leanna would poach in volley, then the point would be over,” Alhassen said.

Girls tennis (15-3) won 20-3 against Northwood High on Oct. 11, becoming Pacific Coast League Champions for the fourth consecutive year. The Bulldogs’ next match is today against Fountain Valley at home.

The Bulldogs started off strong. Senior Lana Fejzagic and junior Mia Lichtenstein secured a tight victory in the first half of the game.

“I told them to really be aggressive at the net for their first round, which was a tight match, and they ended up executing those skills and winning that match,” Schottland said. “That was one of the better ones to see them win, starting off the round strong and ultimately finishing strong as well.”

Co-captains and seniors Leanna Roman and Ayla Alhassen delivered a strong performance in a doubles game, rather than their typical singles. Both Roman and Alhassen have been friends since freshman year — playing together in the final league game, their experience and friendship have helped the two coordinate in their matches.

“I would serve and then Leanna would look for a post, and she would cross the net and then finish the point,” Alhassen said. “That’s how we won really good points. We know each other really well, so we know what to look for when we play.”

In the second half, players focused on delivering drop shots from the baseline and volleying at the net. Both drop shots and net volleying are skills that the team has honed throughout the season, and the team’s growth has been rewarding to watch, according to Roman.

“I saw [junior] Jiah Lee coming to the net, finishing even using her net skill in singles,” Roman said. “And then [garde] Sahan Chakravarthy, she’s drop shotting and following through, which was a really smart play. They were battling it out there. And it was really, really good to see them, like, having so much fun.”

The three seniors have been role models for the underclassmen, according to Schottland. Although the Bulldogs look forward to playing in CIF, they will miss the seniors making their final plays in league this year.

“Leanna brings leadership, Ayla brings that positive energy and Lana brings positive work ethic and positivity in her matches,” Schottland said. “And I think all three of these girls exemplify those traits for our incoming girls. All of them bring certain unique traits to the team, and we for sure will feel the loss when they leave us at the end of the season.”

Donate to Portola Pilot

$375

$500

Contributed

Our Goal

Your donation will support the student journalists of Portola High School. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.

About the Contributors

Catherine Li, Editor-in-Chief

Catherine Li is an Editor-in-Chief for her third and final year on the Portola Pilot. You can find her working on her paintings at the last minute while drinking badly mixed coffee that will probably make her sick. This year, she’s finally found the verb in Cicero and has retired from thinking about dead French men. Louis Antoine de Saint-Just can still hit her up though, if he wants.

Sophia Kim, Front Page Editor

Sophia Kim is the Front Page Editor for her second year on the Portola Pilot. In the little free time that she has—most of it dedicated to studying physics this year—Sophia enjoys sewing, trimming her hair, and drawing. She hopes that her designs for the newspaper’s front cover will attract many new readers.