With its top singles player sophomore Janet Liu missing, the Paly Vikes’ tennis team (15-1, 6-1) could easily have rolled over and given up against its crosstown rival, the Gunn Titans (1-12, 0-7). That, however, was not this Viking team’s mentality as it stormed to an early 3-0 lead before eventually winning by a blowout team score of 6-1 on Wednesday, Oct. 15.
Sophomore Emma Marti, the team’s normal No. 2 player, led the charge brilliantly by filling in at No. 1 singles, coming away with a decisive victory, 6-0, 6-1. Marti used her powerful serve and dominating forehand to move her opponent around before finishing off points.
“I liked filling in for Janet at No. 1,” Marti said. “The competition is stronger and I think I elevated my game. My opponent picked it up in the second set, but a victory was never really in question.”
Marti set the early trend of finishing matches quickly as junior No. 4 singles player Christine Koepnick immediately followed her off the court. Koepnick, who normally plays No. 3 doubles with fellow junior Lauren Mah, moved her doubles style of play over to the singles court with no problems, giving her opponent a healthy drubbing, 6-1, 6-0.
“It was really different playing singles today,” Koepnick said. “There’s a lot more decisions you have to make. When I play doubles, it’s normally crosscourt and volleys, so I enjoyed the added responsibility. I played pretty well and hope to play some more single in the future.”
Only 45 minutes into the match, the Lady Vikes found themselves up 3-0 as junior No. 1 doubles players Sophie Biffar and Gracie Dulik tallied in another victory, 6-3, 6-1. Always a reliable pair, Biffar and Dulik punished their opponents by moving into the net and putting away points quickly.
“Playing against Gunn provided us with some extra motivation,” Dulik said. “We played very well, but not our best. Sophie and I have some great chemistry so we can win against just about anybody.”
As the match approached the one-hour mark, both Mira and Vrinda Khanna walked off the courts with convincing victories at No. 3 and No. 2 singles, respectively. Senior Vrinda Khanna won her match with a score of 6-4, 6-0, while her younger sister won 6-1, 6-0.
Sophomore Mira Khanna used her powerful shots to win points convincingly, though also making the games closer than necessary.
“I started off pretty badly because most of the early games were pretty close, but my opponent’s inconsistency eventually worked to my advantage, ” she said. “We’ve dealt with Janet not being here before, so it wasn’t that big a deal she wasn’t playing today.”
Her older sister, on the other hand, played a more consistent game in trying to slow push her opponent out of points. This strategy proved just as effective as Vrinda Khanna won eight games in a row to end the match.
“The first set all of the games was really close, but I eventually broke her [my opponent’s] serve and won the last two games to close it out,” she said. “She didn’t like high balls with topspin or low balls with slice, so I just kept feeding her those and she made mistakes.”
The Vikings stuck to their strong winning formula of quick victories in singles and clinching victories in doubles. In past matches, head coach Andy Harader had stressed the fact that the doubles rotation needed work, but today he was satisfied as Paly won two of its three doubles battles.
“Gunn is not a strong team, so I think today’s results didn’t verify our position as one of the top teams in Northern California, it only strengthened our record,” Harader said. “If they had beaten us, it would have been like winning the Super Bowl for them.”
A Viking loss would have dropped the team from first to third in the ultra-competitive De Anza division. With important Central Coast Section seedings on the line, every match counts.
“Right now, we’re in a three-way tie with Monta Vista and Saratoga for first place in the league,” Harader said. “Any slip up against one of the other teams would put us out of the top, so we are going to have to maintain at high level of intensity in all of our matches.”
Paly will try to stay in first place when it plays its next next match on Monday at Sacred Heart Prep.