“The discomfort is only temporary; it’ll be worth it in the end.”

This is one piece of advice that Senior Captain Megan Murphy wants the girls tennis team to get out of the season.

“Our coach, Brian Packowitz, has been pushing us pretty hard, and we’ve been doing more conditioning than we’ve done in past years, which I think is good. We’ve just been working on our attitudes a lot too. He’s been very concerned with our mental game, which is really important for tennis,” said Murphy.

This theme was common among the tennis team as Junior Kalli Majewski also mentioned it.

“I think tennis is a really hard sport mentally, and it tests your ability to come back… even though it’s an individual sport, the team comes together to encourage people and help them succeed with the game and within their mental state,” said Majewski

In tennis, one must keep a positive attitude throughout. It is a very back and forth game; just because a single point is lost does not mean the whole game is over. A negative attitude might only lead to further failure.

As captain of the tennis team, Murphy leads by example. Her focus is to “try to keep a really good attitude on the team, be positive and never complain about the work, especially since they’ve been doing a lot more running.”

The team lost several players from last year, and some girls had to move around in positions, but that hasn’t stopped them.

“As a team, we work well together, more than we did last year. I feel like more of the people on the team this year are more committed,” said Majewski.

Another factor that has led to their growth as a team is how close the girls on the team are. The team practices and goes to invites together, and to bring the team together even more, they are doing a breast cancer walk and have had many pasta parties.

Even as a freshman on the team, Isabel Alviar, feels right at home.

“We all get along really well…. and we all watch each other play; we’re all really close,” said Alviar. “Even though we’re playing individual sports, we all know the game, so we can bond over that. Everyone’s really encouraging, and they motivate each other.”

The hard work seems to be paying off, for the team won the Lakes 14-team invite on Saturday, Sept. 26.

“Personally, I want to make it to state, but for the team, I want us to do really well in conference and sectionals, too,” said Alviar.

Although she is a freshman, according to her teammates, Alviar brings experience and dedication, and the rest of the team joins her in those hopes of success.

“I would really hope to see [freshman Alviar] go to state as well as our first doubles team and possibly even more people like the second singles and second doubles,” said Majewski.

The first doubles team is junior Kelli Cigelnik paired with junior Jessica Peterson, and the second doubles team is sophomore Bree Park joined by senior Nicole Teeters. The second single is Majewski.

The girls are rooting for each other.

“I think this year we’ve all bonded a lot more than in the past,” said Murphy. “Our team is a lot closer this year, and we all know each other better. We’ve had a lot more chances to hangout with each other off the courts, and it’s been nice.”

As of Oct. 16, Alviar qualified for state after winning two matches at sectionals.