“Tennis has always interested me,” says Mia Mitchell, a 16 years old sophomore who has been a part of the tennis team for 2 years. She is in love with the team and environment. Mitchell asserts that the time during the practices is so fun and uplifting that she always looks forward to it. 

Nevertheless, the main part of these interactions would have never been created without the coaches and team members. Mitchell claims that it brings the experience to a whole different level. “I loved the people that I sat and watched the matches with. They are my very good friends and it was nice to always have someone to talk to on the bench,” she says. 

“I like when the team comes together during a match and stands up for the person playing if the other team is cheating,” adds sophomore Lilly Shaffrey. 

Mitchell and Shaffrey are surrounded by the overwhelming amount of heartwarming memories connected to the girls tennis team. For instance, the most memorable team interactions Shaffrey had are always connected to the team’s joint complaints about the weather. “It brings everyone together somehow,” Shaffrey asserts.

On the other hand, Mitchell’s favorite memory is connected to the times she plays doubles with her friends. Mitchell is assured that only because of her profound passion towards tennis allowed her to meet a lot of wonderful people. 

This season brought the team great professional improvements. However “losing at regionals against Indy was hard on the team,” both Mitchell and Shaffrey say. According to Mitchell, the Briar Woods team has always been pretty matched up with Indy. Even though Briar Woods’ team has managed to beat Indy twice out of the four times during the game. In the final round, a member of the other team won. “It was a major upset and that put us in a place where we could have won easily,” Shaffrey asserts. This loss had an impact on the team as everyone had been working really hard in order to get to the level they were at. 

Despite the fact that it is rough to balance both tennis and school at the same time, the girls never regret the decision of joining the team. Even though tennis is not only about having fun, but also about taking responsibility, members’ sincere support  for each other brings their spirits up. “I think our team is perfect,” Shaffrey says.