The Palo Alto Girls’ Tennis team’s winning streak ended last Tuesday after losing to Los Gatos. The girls beat Gunn and Lynbrook the previous week, but Los Gatos proved to be too strong for them. After this match, Los Gatos and Paly are tied, both with league records of 4-2.

The top three Paly singles players all lost their matches. Number one single player senior Kate Cooper lost 2-6, 2; number two singles player freshman Christine Hu lost in a close three set match 4-6, 6-2, 4-6. After losing the first set, she was able to come back and easily win the second; however, she could not keep her momentum going and lost in a very close third set. Number three singles player senior Elizabeth Whyte also lost in a complete shut out, 0-6, 0-6. Sophomore Austin Freeman, number four singles player, pulled out an easy victory, 6-2, 6-0.

Paly doubles teams continued to dominate, especially number one doubles player, senior Jossy Tseng. Tseng played number one doubles with sophomore Allison Heinrich. They easily defeated Los Gatos 6-1, 6-0. Tseng’s quick net play and strong baseline hits helped in the win. Tseng could easily be number one singles player, but she says, "I like doubles so much more. Number one singles position is so brutal."

Paly’s number two doubles also had an easy match. Senior Kathryn Rotow and sophomore Megan Przybyla won their match 6-1, 6-1. Przybyla usually plays in the number one doubles spot with Jossy Tseng, but for this match she played number two. Number three doubles were not as successful. Senior Jenny Koepnick and Nicole Przybyla lost 4-6, 2-6. They played strong in the first set, and it was very close. However, Los Gatos gained momentum and won a much easier second set.

Before losing this match, the girls had been on a winning streak. They crushed Gunn, 6-1. Gunn is not having that good of year; their league record stood at 1-3 after their loss to Paly. The only girl to lose her match was number one singles player Kate Cooper. Cooper has the most difficult position on the team, and she has defended the spot as best as she can. Paly also beat Lynbrook High School, 6-1, on October 2, the week before Los Gatos. For the Lynbrook game, the line up was slightly different than usual.

Kate Cooper still played number won singles, and she won her match in a complete shut out, 6-0, 6-0. Austin Freeman played number two singles. She also won with a final score of 6-0, 6-3. Number three singles player was Paula Yoffe. She has been playing on the junior varsity team and had an opportunity to play up for a match. She lost her match 4-6, 2-6. Katherine Rotow, who normally plays doubles, stepped up to the number four singles position. She won 6-2, 6-4.

In doubles, the number one team of Jossy Tseng and Allison Heinrich won their match 6-1, 6-0. Christine Hu and Megan Przybyla played number two doubles, and also won their match 6-3, 6-0. Finally number three doubles team, Elizabeth Whyte and Jenny Koepnick, also had a complete shut out, 6-0, 6-0. This was quite an easy match for all of the girls; their strength as a team was shown clearly visible.

The girls have an important match against Monta Vista on Tuesday, October 14 at the Paly. "These next few weeks are really important to us," said Coach Harader. The Lady Vikes get ready to face Gunn again this coming Thursday, October 16. This time they will be playing at Gunn. The girls will also face Lynbrook again the following week at home. They will then play Los Gatos on October 28. With the advantage of playing on their home courts, Paly might pull out a win.