As summer came to a close, the annual ritual of preseason sports kicked off on the Fieldston campus. For the Girls Varsity Tennis team (GVT), the intensity of preseason was as grueling as the late summer heat, but the team was energized by the new home courts located at the brand-new Columbia Tennis Center. The world-class facility, which features twelve courts, serves as the home of the Columbia University tennis teams.
For the members of GVT, Coach Ana Baert and Coach Danielle Gabriel approached pre-season differently this year: a tie-break system, which would be used to determine the roster for Junior Varsity and Varsity teams. Supplied with plenty of water bottles and snacks, the competitions lasted for two weeks before the start of school.
After a hard and long pre-season, the matches began. The opening match of the season for GVT took place on the road at Riverdale. The Eagles fell 4-1 in a series of hard-fought matches. The team’s home opener was against Colombia Grammar, where the Eagles again fell 4-1. The team was disappointed to lose their first match on their new home courts.
After getting off to an 0-2 start, the Eagles were anxious to find their footing in their next match. They were able to do just that in an exciting 3-2 comeback victory against Poly Prep, also at the Columbia Tennis Center.
After many matches which were mostly defeats for GVT, Coach D responded to the start of the season stating, “I’m so proud of the way the team has fought through every point they’ve played on the court this year. We’re currently 1-3 but that doesn’t begin to reflect how strong we are from the top to the bottom of our lineup. Those three matches on the right side came down to the line and as we continue to put the work in, I have no doubt that close matches start ending in our favor. This is such a testament to the girls, their work ethic, and the way they support and encourage each other both on and off the court.” Coach D also shows support and encourages her team to do well. She is proud of the hard work her team puts in to see great results when playing matches.
As the Eagles approach mid-season, GVT is poised and excited to climb the Ivy League standings, and is looking forward to their homecoming match against Riverdale.
