By Samantha Payton
The Kaneland tennis team ended the season with a record of 8-3, taking first place in the Northern Illinois Big 12 conference.
The team started off by taking first place in the Plainfield North Invitational.
“Eight teams were in that tournament, including perennial talented teams Lemont and Plainfield North and our conference opponent, DeKalb High School,” head coach Tim Larsen said.
“When [we] won the Plainfield North Invitational, I was extremely proud of myself for accomplishing something that big,” sophomore Angelica Emmanouil said. “I think what led to the team’s success was that we handle our emotions well and we are physically prepared too.”
In the tournament, the team only suffered one loss against Wheaton Academy.
“They have a very solid team,” Larsen said. “I think we were all a little overwhelmed that day, I wish we could play them again. I think we could give them a much better fight.”
Sophomores Sammie Schrepferman, Madi Jurcenko and Emmanouil all came out with victories in the number one singles and doubles spots, but it wasn’t enough to give the team an overall win.
The team pushed past their losses though, and focused on the bigger picture.
According to Emmanouil, the team’s practices consist of running drills to improve the technical details of playing and trying to fix the things that need to be tweaked.
“We have strategies that we try to execute on the court so that we can be in control of the points during the match instead of reacting to what our opponents do,” Larsen said. “When our girls get aggressive and take control of the point, they look fantastic on the courts.”
In the conference championship on Oct. 5, the team won first place for the second year in a row.
“It’s a really great accomplishment to have won conference two years in a row, and it just makes us want to come back next year and try to win again,” said Jurcenko.