Girls tennis is finishing a successful season this October. With a winning record, the team went into postseason matches with hopes for success and growth. 

Going into the season, a worry for the team was filling the shoes of its graduated varsity players. Younger members of the team had to step into new roles to bring the success that girls tennis experienced this season. Junior captain Emma Herzog was one player who stepped into a new role this year, competing as the team’s No. 1 singles player. Herzog said, “We’ve had to put in a lot of practice, including in the summer, and we’ve had to work really hard to develop our younger players to make sure the season was good for everyone.”

Girls tennis finished with an 8-3 record in the conference. Herzog said, “We had a winning record this year, and we took home either two or three more wins than last year. We’ve made a lot of improvements that we’re proud of.”

The team played two postseason matches. In the first, Owatonna beat Rochester JM 5-2. In the second, Owatonna lost to Lakeville South 0-7. These matches concluded the season for most of the team. 

Six members of the varsity team will compete in individual sections on Thursday, Oct. 12. Individual sections are another postseason opportunity for players to switch up their role on the team as a singles or doubles player. Two singles and two doubles teams will compete.

Going into next season, the team is only graduating one senior on varsity. Coach Zach Waletich hopes that this will help continue their success. Waletich said, “I am very optimistic about next season. At the varsity level, we are only graduating one player at No. 3 doubles, so the rest of last year’s varsity line up will be returning. On top of that, we have a lot of strong depth behind our varsity top ten.” 

Girls tennis is hoping to finish the year strong at individual sections. Fans can come support the team on Thursday, Oct. 12 at the Rochester Athletic Center.