For the first time in a decade, Northwood varsity girls’ tennis defeated University High School—taking four more games to break a 9-9 tie—on Sept 30. Their reward was an ice-bath dunk for coaches and captains. With the first official CIF-SS preliminary on Nov. 5, it wasn’t a playoff victory, but it nonetheless lifted the team’s confidence.
University, which had won five straight Pacific Coast League championships until 2022, has long been considered one of Northwood’s most dominant foes. This year, however, the team made a collective decision to treat University like any other opponent.
“Honestly, I think we just let go of our past,” senior Jia Dave said. “And we changed our mindset to, ‘If we can’t beat them, let’s try out different things to see what actually works against them.’”
University gained momentum in the second round, yet the T-wolves continued to compare notes from the singles rounds to refine their tactics, placing an emphasis on scoring high in doubles.
The win against University comes three years after Northwood’s Division III CIF win. While they have not returned to the playoffs since then, junior Aashrita Atmukar noted that the milestone continues to motivate them this season.
“I feel like after that win, at least my coach and the players got more confident in their skills,” Atmukar said. “I think it helped motivate us to keep pushing.”
Junior Ashley Liang has emerged as Northwood’s best singles player, despite only being on the team for a year. Junior Chloe Lin and sophomore Jane Kim have become the T-wolves’ top doubles pair.
Varsity girls tennis coach Kayla Almazan also described a shift in her coaching style since the CIF win.
“I want to be able to have some sort of role model and leadership and representation within the team that’s not coming from a coach,” Almazan said. “So that’s more so the captains that are on the courts that know what’s going on, that know the pressure of things, that know how it is mentally and physically.”
With a current record of 11-9, the T-wolves have garnered a streak of major wins and are eyeing a return to CIF, despite a recent loss to University in a rematch.
“Even if you’re down 0-5, our teammates are still rooting for you,” Liang said. “Everyone has your back.”
