The girl’s tennis team is in regular form after starting off with a shaky season, defeating University 7-0 on Sept. 17th, LACES 4-3 on Sept. 20th, Hamilton 4-3 on Oct. 1st, and Fairfax 7-0 on Oct. 3rd.

“I think we’re a balanced team, but recently Kristine Kamimura has been playing outstanding, especially for a first time singles player,” says tennis Coach Mike Finegold. The singles spots represent the top players of the team.

The match against Hamilton High was very close, with Kamimura as the deciding match. Kamimura went into a close tie-breaker, in which she had to play an extra set where they play up to seven points. In fact, the tie-breaker was so close that it went beyond seven points, with a 10-8 finish against Hamilton.

The win over Hamilton allowed them to be second in the league, right below Palisades High.

On Oct. 16th, Venice High played two-time city champion Palisades High. The girls tried their hardest, but lost 7-0. Two players, Lauren Yoshikawa and Kamimura got close, both with scores 8-5.

“This year we got a lot more games than previously,” said Coach Finegold.

“The teams are getting harder this season,” said tennis team Captain Jessica Haraga. There have been many close matches, but Venice is still in the top two.

The girls last year went to invitationals and won the championship, but this year, tennis team player Rachel Ma says, “We hope to go to City Playoffs and do the best we can.”

Coach Finegold says he needs to prepare the girls for City Playoffs, especially because the teams in City Playoffs are beyond the level of invitational teams.

The girls’ tennis team serves it up against Fairfax on Oct.25th at Fairfax.