Warren Central has a lot of athletes that have built a name for themselves, but the girl's tennis team is not one of them. This group of players is determined to change that narrative through hard work that leads to results. One match that will show their progress is the one against Greenfield-Central on April 17.
“They are one of the better teams in our schedule, so anytime we can beat them, it’s a feather in a cap, but they are a talented team and it’s going to be tough,” head tennis coach Jonnathan Patterson said.
When the Warriors play the Cougars, the competition increases significantly for Warren, which brings out the need to play even harder than in normal matches. In order to beat a team like this one, the team has to be prepared for new experiences in the matches and adapt to them.
“Playing Greenfield-Central is such a big match because their players are very competitive, as we are, and they are a really good school which makes for a really good match,” sophomore Diana Cabrera-Lopez said.
Part of being able to compete in matches like these is working hard beforehand to be ready for anything. The team has been putting in hard work over the offseason in order to advance their skills to a new level.
“I believe the matches will turn out pretty well with our earlier conditioning start,” Cabrera-Lopez said. “It gives us a step ahead to prepare.”
This match is expected to be a close one, with some girls winning and some losing, but ultimately coming down to some close matches at the end. Even if some players can not find success that night, if others do, the team can still win.
“I hope we can win 3-2. I have confidence in our number one and number two singles, the swing will be in that number three singles spot,” Patterson said.
In the number three singles spot this season, Cabrera-Lopez will most likely be filling that role, and be a determining factor in a lot of matches this season, with one of the biggest ones being the one against Greenfield-Central. She believes that she has practiced the skills that are needed to compete with the Cougars.
“We are really working on skill development, also in-game match consistency. So when you are in those matches playing against somebody at a higher level, you don’t feel as misequipped,” Patterson said.