Hustle, hit and never quit

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Section runner up OHS Girls Tennis now starts their individual quest for sections

Jade Hanson

The OHS Girls Tennis Team finished with a record of, 20-2 overall, 10-1 in the conference, and second in the Big 9 tournament. On Tuesday, Oct. 10 varsity played their second and third round matches of sections and finished in second overall.

Practice is changing as the girls are going from the sections to individuals by adding more match play to determine who will be playing in individuals, and cutting more of the constant drilling. By making these changes, the girls are having to think more on match strategy especially for doubles. Consistently practicing hard is something that the varsity group is striving to do, and they now have not only Coach Matejcek, but coaches Beth Fink and coach Matt Olson to help. The junior varsity girls season ended on Thursday, Sept. 28, allowing both Olson and Fink to help the varsity.

The Big 9 Coach of the Year is Curt Matejcek, as he was voted on out of the Big 9 coaches. This is Matejcek’s 23rd year coaching for the OHS Tennis team. This is his twentith year as head coach and he was an assistant for three. Coach Fink describes Matejcek’s dedication level as, ”Not being able to find another coach in the Big 9 that is as dedicated whether it be in just with practice during the season, and in off season he is working with tennis and the girl’s to make sure they are going to be successful and improve.”

Matejcek coaches both the girl’s fall season and the boy’s spring season. Matejcek is always staying involved with tennis year round as he helps with lessons in the summer and junior lessons in the winter. Senior captain Macy Voss said this about how Matejcek has helped her, “ He has taught me how to stay calm in high pressure situations, how to win humbly and how to accept defeat graciously”. Matejcek is always helping the girls reach their keys of success through practice with staying fundamentally strong with their strokes, serving, and volleys. Although the team season is over, the individual sub-sections being on Thursday, Oct. 12 in Lakeville.