The Boston Latin School girls’ varsity tennis team has yet again proved itself as an athletic powerhouse, serving up another triumphant season this spring. After dominating their regular season with a 13-2 record, the team is moving on to the state championship, which began May 29, and are looking to make another run at a title.
As of now, the girls’ tennis team holds the second-seed position in the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletics Association rankings. Out of all of their 15 competitions, they have lost just five, falling only to Wellesley and the defending champion, Lexington. This has placed them in a favorable position going into the state tournament and they are prepared to rival the run to the final four made by last year’s team.
For their high school season and for states, each competition contains two teams that play five games in total. These games include the first, second and third singles matches and first and second doubles matches. Similar to most sports, if one wins the majority of games, one wins the competition, something that the BLS team has done many times throughout this season.
Despite how successful this team has been as of late, they have come a long way in their development. Head Coach Paulanne Wilson reflects on the dominance of the current Wolfpack team. She says, “[Determination] stemmed from early on [when] various schools [had] no respect for my team because we were so bad.” These humble beginnings have shaped the culture of the team, and as Coach Wilson puts it, a “passion for revenge.” That passion has paid off, as the current team has grown and increased in ability.
While tennis out of the school environment can be a more solitary endeavor, high school tennis is centered around the team. Regardless, it requires incredible individual strength, technique and mental toughness. Tennis games are typically played with just two athletes who must deal with the physical demands of playing for hours at a time. This takes much time and dedication to the sport, but however daunting it may seem, it is a challenge that the BLS girls’ varsity tennis team is most certainly up to.
Even through all of the intense competition and personal trials necessary for such a sport, varsity player Vanessa Vu (III) emphasizes the deep connections and supportive environment that the team fosters, saying, “Encouraging each other is a normal thing and these players are almost like my second family. We all have built up so many great relationships while developing teamwork skills and it is overall a wonderful experience.” Even while they all fight their own battles in different matches, the ultimate goal is always to win the war and lift the team up as a whole.
This year’s team has faced a few major challenges going into the 2024 season, as they struggled to procure court space for practices and matches. Team captain Rachel Lantsman (I) highlights another hurdle: “This year’s season has been hard from losing three seniors last year.” Three may not seem like a lot but for a small team, it was a big hit. Especially since those lost players included key athletes like Christine Maher who went 19-0 in the state semifinals and won crucial games.
The team has been able to build back up and continue to establish themselves throughout the season. They have been able to find their way not only back to states but up in the rankings to second seed, proving themselves to be one of the most dominant teams that BLS has seen this year.
