According to head coach Jim Gorman, the girls’ tennis team has improved both in skill level and unity this season. “I think this year’s tennis team is better than our past teams,” he said. “The morale is good. They get together as a team and work well together.”

Before league matches started, the tennis team traveled to Fresno during preseason on Sept. 11 and 12 for a tournament, placing 16 out of 96 teams. The Fresno tournament was a positive experience for the team that allowed them to bond with each other and to hone their tennis skills, according to Gorman.

However, this improvement has not been reflected in their match record, since the competition in the De Anza league is so intense, according to Gorman. “We’ve improved a lot this season, but our win-loss record is not that good at 1-15 overall” he said. “We’ve been playing a lot of tough teams. [We’re] not as weak, because we’re in one of the toughest leagues in Northern California.”

Many of the matches that the tennis team has lost were very close. “Most of our losses have been 3-4, so we’re at the tipping point for a lot of them,” junior Constance Wu said. “It would be nice if it tipped the other way.”

Gorman said he hopes the team will do well in its league record by placing fifth, sixth or seventh within the De Anza league, which has a total of 16 teams.

According to senior Viktoria Tsukanov, if the team does not win more matches during this season, it may have to drop to the El Camino league next year.

“I want everyone to do their best, because we’re in danger of dropping down a league, which I don’t want to happen, because the team is definitely good enough to stay in this league,” she said. “We’re playing a lot of top teams which are really good, like the 3rd and 5th in the state.”

Junior Madeline Traver encourages her teammates to remain positive despite their losses. “We’re in the highest league, so the competition has been really tough,” Traver said. “I think the team gets kind of down when we lose, so I want them to realize that it’s okay and to build their confidence, because the competition is intense, so they shouldn’t feel bad if we don’t win and should just concentrate on improving.”

Overall, the team has high hopes for the rest of the season. It hopes to continue improving especially for the next season. “I think they’ve bonded better, worked harder and been more cohesive this year,” Gorman said. “All in all, they’re doing a good job.”

Seniors Monica Chu, Christine Juang, Viktoria Tsukanov, junior Madeleine Traver, sophomore Emily Zheng and freshman Cara Lai play girls’ doubles for the varsity tennis team.

The success of doubles teams depends on the two players’ different styles. “In doubles, it’s not just your game,” Traver, who plays doubles one, said. “You have to work with your partner and have the right chemistry. I played singles last year, so it’s a totally new dynamic for me.”

Doubles is different from singles in that it involves a sense of trust between the two players. “In singles, the pressure is all on you since you’re the only team member on the court,” Traver said. “However, if you mess up, you’re only letting yourself down. In doubles, you also let your partner down. You have to give emotional and physical support to your teammate and you really have to think about your shot placements. You have to hit a strong shot over the net, but also can’t hit a shot that will put your partner in a bad position.”

Traver’s doubles one partner, Tsukanov, agrees. “The difference between doubles and singles is that in doubles you have to work as a team and encourage each other; otherwise, it’s completely pointless,” she said. “At the end of the day, you can only control your own playing, but you can try to cheer up your partner with positive thoughts.”

There are advantages to playing both singles and doubles, according to Traver. “Singles is a better workout and I like the sense of independence, but in doubles, I get excited emotionally when we both work together and succeed together, because it doubles the excitement,” she said.

Tsukanov hopes to improve her overall skills during the rest of the season. “I’m looking to get better in technique and all-around game play, because that’s why you play tennis,” she said. “No matter whether you win or lose, it’s how you play in the end that’s important.”

Traver also encourages any prospective players to try out for the girls’ tennis team. “I think if anyone is even slightly thinking about joining, they definitely should,” Traver said. “The girls are all nice and super friendly and the coaches are just amazing. I would totally recommend anyone to join, because we have a lot of fun together.”

Juniors Constance Wu and Holly Xiao, sophomore Allana Booth and freshman Mari Haraguchi are the starting singles players.

According to Booth, who plays singles one, singles is concentrated more on individual players’ shots. “Singles is really different from doubles, because the court is smaller,” Booth said. “Since in doubles one of the players starts at the net, they volley more in doubles than singles. You don’t necessarily have to run much more, but you have to hit more angles.”

The difference in court area to player ratio between singles and doubles affects what types of shots are generally used during games. “The main part is that even though you have the alleys in doubles, there’s a lot less area to cover than in singles, because in doubles, there’s one person in the front and one in the back, but in singles, you have to run up and down the court,” Wu, who plays singles two, said. “You hit a lot more ground strokes in singles while there are a lot more volleys in doubles. When you try to volley in singles, it takes a bit more to come up to the net and take the risk of volleying, while in doubles someone is already there and so can do it.”

Singles players have to concentrate more on their playing strategy, according to Booth, who accredits her preference for singles to a lack of experience in playing doubles. “I’ve always liked singles more,” Booth said. “When I first started playing, I played singles, so I never really got to play doubles that much.”

Wu, on the other hand, prefers playing singles in order to improve her tennis skills, but acknowledges its disadvantages. “Singles really improves my game a lot more because I get to hit more balls, but I do miss doubles because you have someone to talk to and to share the experience with,” Wu said. “Singles is lonelier.”

Booth understands the challenge of playing in the De Anza league. “We’re in the higher league, so it’s really tough, but I guess my goal is to just try my hardest,” Booth said. “We don’t have to necessarily win, because the level is so high, but I want to maintain a good attitude and always try my hardest.”

Three years ago, Gorman decided to be the coach at Gunn because of its strong tennis history, tradition and dedication. “I think Gunn has a great tennis tradition and a great tennis heritage, so I thought that it would be a great opportunity to start up a successful tennis program,” he said.

Players compliment Gorman on his willingness to adjust his coaching style to suit the players’ needs. “We’ve had him as a coach since the year we moved up [into the De Anza league],” Tsukanov said. “I remember that during the first year, people were complaining about him all the time and, I have to say, for rightful reasons. However, I have to give him lots of credit for being such an adaptable person, because he was able to change his style so that he could coach us better, and I think he’s doing a good job now.”

Others also recognize his tennis experience and dedication to the team. “[Coach Gorman is] teaching us things that we need to work on, and he’s able to accurately pinpoint what we need to improve,” Wu said. “We work harder because he puts such an effort into coaching us that we don’t want to let him down.”