It's something the Pleasantville High School Girls Tennis Team players haven't been able to call themselves in nine years -- winners. Last week, the Greyhounds broke their long losing streak, with a 3-2 victory over the Bridgeton Bulldogs, according to The Star-Ledger.
At the October 18th home match, a 2-2 tie put all the pressure on second-singles player Lorna Miller. When the sun started to go down, Coach Harry Green said it was too dark to see the ball. “I was a little nervous the other coach would have wanted to split the point and we would have to settle for a tie. I was thinking, there goes our first win,” he told The Star-Ledger.
Green's quick-thinking, to light the nearby football field, meant Miller's tie-breaking match could continue. After three hours on the court, the 16-year old Pleasantville teen was excited to lock in her first victory of the season, and the first win for the Greyhound girls team in nine years.
"It feels awesome," Miller told The Press of Atlantic City. "I came up to the net more and slammed (the ball)," she said. "They finally broke the news that I won the match (for the team) and I was very happy."
Green, who has been coaching the team for seven years, hopes the big win will help attract new players. "It feels good because it's something they can build upon," Green told the press of Atlantic City. "They finally know what winning is...Normally they're competing and they come off (the court) and they don't win. This is something I think will motivate them and the school district to help other people come out (for the team) and build on the success we had."
First doubles player Julia Monroe says the team is like a family. "It's great to finally get that win and show that all our hard work paid off. We don't have the best record, but we always go out and play hard. So it was nice to finally let people know that we could go out there and compete," she told the Press of Atlantic City.
No comments:
Post a Comment