On September 8th, CdM’s girl’s tennis team competed against University, securing their victory at 74-73. The game was held from 2 pm to 6 pm on Corona del Mar’s celebrated blue courts, with encouraging parents, students, and the team’s coaches on standby for support. For many players, this has been one of the few games where many of their family and friends have been able to come out and watch them play. “We love when people come out and cheer for us. It motivates us” Sydnee Spirlin said.

While CdM’s team took home the win, University lead 7-8 mid-game at 4:08 pm. At the time, CdM’s most notable winning doubles were 6-3 by Sydnee and Sara and 6-3 by Lena and Katie. CdM singles were lead by Sienna at 6-1, Jane at 6-0, and Shea at 6-2. Things, however, took a turn at 4:30 when the two teams came out tied at 8-8.

Still, at an overall tie of 8-8, an hour later, a winning play named Univerity at the lead, or so they thought. While the two teams exited the court, the coaches assessed the prior plays. After careful deliberation, CdM coach Jamie Gresh and University coach John Kessler announced the score as 9-9 with Uni and CdM still at a tie. The double tie was a bit of a surprise for both teams. Sara Miller stating that “It was shocking, that’s never happened” adding that “Jamie said that’s never happened in the ten years he’s done high school tennis”.

After being asked to return to the courts for a tie-breaker, both teams resumed their positions, preparing for the final plays that would tip the scale. Sydnee Spirlin said, “we pushed it to a tie so we feel really really good”. The quiet tension circulating through the audience did not match the thrill of CdM’s team. Sydnee explained she “was more excited to go back out there and wash away the loss…and turn it around,” and that’s exactly what the Sea Queens did.

As the players were once again organized into singles and doubles Miller said “we thought let’s try our best,” amid this excitingly unprecedented opportunity. Both teams showed immense vigor and their movements were steadfast as they each worked to bring home the win.

At the game’s conclusion, the individual game points were tallied and the final score was announced as 74-73, naming CdM with the win. “That last match- if we didn’t win those last four games, even though we lost the set, that would’ve been it,” Miller said after the victory. Adding that, “we played our best at the end”. The Trojans succeeded in bringing a challenging match. Spirlin said, “University’s always been really good so whenever we see them on the schedule we always focus more because we know how competitive it’s going to be”.

The Trojans accepted their loss gallantly and CdM coach Jamie Gresh prompted the CdM team to cheer “Nice match Uni!” as the Trojans made their way off the courts. Spirlin explained that “ it’s a good competition but there’s no animosity” between the University Trojans and Coronal del Mar Sea Queens.

While the match definitely took a turn, the CdM team celebrated their win and look forward to stepping onto the courts again for another.