Menlo School’s opening cheer for victory over the heavily favored Palo Alto girls’ varsity tennis team faded to a measly whimper on Wednesday after Paly easily defeated the Knights, 5-2, extending its overall season record to 4-0.
“Our singles lineup played great, and I’m glad that we were able to dominate in several of the matches,” head coach Andy Harader said.
Paly found its first victory in sophomore Mira Khanna at No. 4 singles, who steamrolled through her opponent in less than 30 minutes. Khanna dominated her opponent early as she won eight straight games in a row to finish with a final score of 6-0, 6-1. Using strong forehands and consistent volleys, Khanna worked her way to her fourth straight win of the season.
“I think I played pretty well, especially in the first set,” Khanna said. “In the second set, she started coming back in a lot of the games, but I just worked hard and closed it out.”
Next to walk off the court was sophomore Emma Marti at No. 2 singles, who followed Khanna’s example and cruised to a 6-1, 6-0 victory. Marti used her strong serve to control her opponent before closing in for a put-away shot.
“Everything seemed to be working pretty well, especially in the first set,” Marti said. “My opponent was really consistent, but I closed it out by coming into the net and putting away my volleys.”
Sophomore Janet Liu at No. 1 singles also wasted no time as she lost only two points in the first set on her way to the team’s second 6-0, 6-1 victory. The sun, always an issue on the poorly constructed Paly courts, seemed to be her biggest problem en route to her fourth straight victory.
“My serves were pretty solid, but I got too relaxed in that game in the second set and that’s why I lost it,” Liu said.
After the first singles players sat down to cheer on their teammates, the Vikings ran into some trouble. No. 1, 2 and 4 singles only lost three games on the way to their victories, but the No. 2 doubles team of senior Lisa Ke and sophomore Margot Gerould encountered some difficulties after falling behind 5-4 in the second set. The duo rallied and was nevertheless able to win the match 6-2, 7-5.
“We played pretty well in the beginning, but our performance started to lack a bit in the second set,” Ke said. “Andy [Harader] gave us some advice when we were down in the second set, and we were able to pull it out in the end.”
Next off the court was the No. 1 doubles team of sophomores Gracie Dulik and Sophie Biffar. Although Dulik and Biffar won their first set 6-4, they were unable to stop a surging Knight’s comeback and lost with a final score of 6-4, 0-6, 2-6.
“They warmed up towards the end of the first set, and they started to cut more volleys off at the net,” Biffar said. “We just need to be more confident at the net and make more first serves in.”
The No. 3 doubles duo of sophomores Lauren Mah and Christine Koepnick followed the top doubles team off the court as they also lost, 6-7(4), 7-5, 7-10. While suffering from inconsistent ground-strokes, sophomores Mah and Koepnick were able to hit it hard enough to keep the match close, but in the end found problems with their technique.
“Our double-faults made it really difficult for us to win games,” Koepnick said.
As the sun began to set on the Paly courts, only senior Vrinda Khanna and her opponent in No. 2 singles remained. What started out as a routine match for V. Khanna quickly turned ugly as her opponent asserted her place in the match with consistent ground-strokes from the baseline. Although V. Khanna won in straight sets, she had to battle well into the afternoon before seizing her 6-3, 7-6(6) victory.
“I think I lost my concentration a bit after winning the first set so easily, so I fell behind 5-2 in the second [set],” V. Khanna said. “She was really consistent, so I just started getting more balls in and I was able to grind her out in the end.”
Paly’s win over the Knights marked its fourth straight win in their so-far undefeated season. With the potential to be one of the top teams in NorCal, according to Harader, the girls will focus on several key points of their games throughout the season.
“I want the team to start coming into the net more, both singles and doubles,” Harader said. “That was the focus of the match today and will continue to be the emphasis for the rest of the season.”
The girls’ next match against Gunn will be held at 3:30 p.m on Thursday at Gunn.