On Monday, Sept. 22, the Archie Williams Falcons rallied against the Branson School Bulls in a girls varsity tennis match at home. All four singles matches and all three doubles matches balanced each other out, creating a consistent battle from both teams. Although the Falcons fought hard, they went home with a 2-5 loss. 

First up for doubles matches was third-ranked Archie Williams sophomore Jade Tanamachi and Archie Williams senior Gabriella Monardi. The match was a close competition, with both teams hitting on target. Although Branson won the first set with a score of 6-3, the game was closely contested. In the second set, the Falcons made a comeback, but ultimately fell short, as Branson took the set 6-2 and later won the match. 

The fourth-ranked senior Delphina Dong started off her singles match with several lobs as she hustled left and right. Her opponent from Branson beat her out in the first set, with the final score of 6-0. However, Delphina battled back in the second set, winning 7-5, leading to a tiebreaker that she won 10-6 after Branson hit it into the net. Delphina was proud of her performance today and grateful for her comeback. 

“I was down by a lot in the first set, and then I lost it, and then we went into a tiebreaker, and I’m really proud of myself for keeping it together, and trusting that I could pull through in the next set,” Delphina said.

The next doubles matches were seed two and seed one. Playing in the second rank were juniors Ashlyn Alba and Sydney Hakman, while seniors Sarah Chamberlin and Amara Lee-Watson played first. Both matches were tightly contested, but Branson still came out on top in each.

Nadia Rajparia, a freshman on the team, believes that communication is key when playing singles and doubles matches.

“When [playing] doubles, definitely communicating with your partner [is the most important]. For singles, it’s really about the strategy, because if you can hit incredibly good shots but [do] not know where to place them, you’re not gonna win,” Nadia said. 

The only other win by Archie Williams came from another singles match, where sophomore Ana Flandermeyer came out on top after her opponent from Branson forfeited. While Ana won by forfeit, she was still a fierce competitor, as evidenced by one of the clean winners she hit against her opponent.

In the other singles matches, top-ranked senior Amalya Rajparia and second-ranked senior Chloe Dupont were ultimately defeated by their Branson opponents, with both Falcons dropping their sets after hard-fought, back-and-forth battles.

At the beginning of the season, the enthusiasm and the skill levels amongst the team surprised Archie Williams girls varsity tennis Head Coach David Thomas.

“I’ve never coached girls’ tennis before, but I was instantly super impressed with the skill level of the girls. I thought they would all be kind of beginners, but they’re really good. I mean, they’re very consistent and competitive and have an amazing attitude, win or lose, they’ve been blowing me away that way,” Thomas said. 

 Archie Williams girls tennis will continue the season with a home match Thursday, Sept. 25, against San Rafael High School, aiming to collect a win.