Conquering the court

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Abigail Hong

Senior Lauren Chen gets ready to rally the ball as her partner prepares to serve.

Ending the regular season 8-2, the Diamond Bar High School girls’ tennis team finished second in the Mt. Baldy League behind Montclair, who was also the league champions last year.

“While coming second to Montclair is disappointing when we were so close to the win, Montclair had an excellent season and deserved the championship,” head coach Alexis Feix said. “I am proud of how the team managed the loss and used it as motivation to practice harder.”

But the team is sending three players to CIF Individuals: senior doubles team of Elizabeth Peng and Kelly Tsao and freshman singles player Chloe Cadelina.

The Lady Brahmas ended their season, defeating Chino 16-2, Ontario 13-5, Chaffey 18-0 and Don Lugo 15-3. At the league finals, the team competed for qualification spots at CIF Individuals.

 Unfortunately, the girls had to also compete against themselves because of the tournament bracket system, resulting in fewer qualifications. However, the entire team still has an opportunity to compete, as their second-place league finish qualifies them for CIF team playoffs, where they will face Maranatha High School today.

Many Lady Brahmas garnered league awards after the end of league play, with Cadelina, Peng and Tsao being named Mt. Baldy League MVPs and seniors Natalie Wang, Lindsay Kashiwabara and Lauren Chen being awarded second-team league honors.

The senior-heavy lineup will leave room to fill for the underclassmen. However, some of the team’s top single players will be returning next season, including Cadelina, sophomore Laura Gao and  juniors Levia Zhu and Gustava Drew.

“Every single senior has such a unique impact on our team culture, mostly bringing a level of maturity and deep understanding of the game of tennis to the team,” Feix said. “Their presence and commitment to the team will be deeply missed next year.”