The Paly girls varsity tennis team is off to a confident start after a 6-1 win over Los Altos High School on Thursday. This year, the team is in the lower El Camino Athletic League after last year’s 7-11 record.

The Lady Vikes, led by five freshman and four sophomores, were able to crush the Eagles, a team composed entirely of upperclassmen. After almost three hours of play, all Paly singles players were triumphant, and two out of three doubles matches were won. Last year, the Lady Vikes’ record against Los Altos was 0-2. With a strong force of underclassmen on the team, head coach Andy Harader is optimistic about reaching the league championships.

“We have five tournament ranked players this year,” Harader said, “and five freshman that are really going to boost the level of the team.”

At No. 1 singles, freshman Janet Liu began dictating play early on. Despite a minor back injury Liu recently suffered, she was able to off her opponent, sophomore Jamie Eng of Los Altos, in straight sets, 6-0, 6-2.

“[During the] first set I just relaxed,” Liu said. “My serve was pretty strong and I knew I could beat her in consistency.”

The Khanna sisters, junior Vrinda Khanna and freshman Mira Khanna, easily overpowered their opponents. The older Khanna continued to move in towards the net, allowing her to play a strong offense, winning 6-3, 6-3. Mira Khanna had no trouble closing out her match in a 6-1, 6-2 victory.

“[My opponent] kept on trying,” Mira said. “She would not give up easily, but [hitting] angle shots really helped me get through [the match].”

Junior Lindsay Yang fought through a long three-set match against Ting-ting Liu at No. 3 singles. After dropping the second set, 3-6, Yang retook possession of the match. Yang’s forehand and backhand winners broke her opponent’s serves twice in the third set, bringing Yang the 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory.

In the doubles matches, Paly sophomores Gracie Dulik and Sophie Biffar played the No. 1 spot, where they took the first set easily, 6-2. After dropping the second set in a close tiebreak, the pair was forced into a third set. Dulik and Biffar gained momentum immediately in the third set, closing the match straight away with six games to one. The final score was 6-2, 6-7, 6-1.

At the No. 2 spot, freshman doubles team Margo Gerould and Emma Marti suffered a straight set loss, 0-6, 4-6. Marti, who showed signs of irritation throughout the match, is suffering from an upper thigh injury.

No. 3 sophomore doubles Christine Koepnick and Lauren Mah outlasted sophomores Tina Chen and Sarah Loebner of Los Altos, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1. In the third set, Koepnick and Mah concentrated on keeping the ball in play. Errors by Chen and Loebener began piling up, allowing Koepnick and Mah to break service games easily.

Returning senior Shireen Tofig and her partner junior Lisa Ke lost their exhibition doubles match, but Tofig predicts that this year’s combination of players will bring the team more wins.

“Since [Los Altos] is a team that we’ve lost to in the past, we’re getting off to a good start,” Tofig said. “We have a lot of strong players this year and hopefully it’ll continue this way throughout the season.”

According to coach Harader, last year’s losses were due to poor team spirit.

“I think the girls this year realize that we stand a chance to win a championship,” Harader said. “And they’re really going after it. They’re really not afraid to try and achieve it. So they’re much more serious about the game. I like that.”

Paly’s girls JV team lost 3-4 to Los Altos despite wins in two singles matches and one doubles match.

The Lady Vikes’ next match will be Tuesday at home versus Wilcox for varsity, away for JV.

“I think that we will dominate Wilcox,” Harader said. “They’re not in the same class as [our] team. [We are] a good team.”