Solon High School’s girls tennis team has been preparing for weeks to  advance to states, and the team’s practice is finally being put to the test. Solon is on a winning streak,  having emerged victorious against St Joseph’s, Twinsburg, and Strongsville.

“The competition has gotten harder since last year, but I think that we have also gotten better,” said Samantha Rosen, a  senior varsity tennis player at SHS. “I don’t think it will be easy because we have so much competition, but I think if we practice and play our games with strength then we might have a really nice chance of winning and hopefully excelling to states.”

Rosen said that she thinks that the strong bond between her and her teammates will help them excel throughout the season.

“So far SHS has won the majority of games that we have played, “ Rosen said. “I personally feel that our team has majorly improved since last year, and it’s probably mostly due to the experience that our team has, and just practice over the weeks.”

Maggie Yang the first singles player at SHS says that she practices all year, working on techniques that will make her a better player.

“What I’ve personally been working on is my aggressiveness when playing as well as attacking our competitors, and approaching the net a lot more,” Yang said. “After the long summer I’m excited to get back out there, I mean I love the competition so why not.”

To individually go to states, members of the team participate in a Sectional and then District tournament.  Brackets are constructed after the regular season to determine seeding.Those individuals will be sent to compete in the state competition against other players from across Ohio

“We don’t know how much our competition has improved, but I think I’ll do very well,” Yang said. “I  want to go all the way to states, but first I have to win conference in two weeks. Our team is slowly building our own dominance and overall  I have a good mindset about our future.”

Linda Fox, the coach for the girls varsity team, is now focused on getting as many players as she can to districts, and hopefully states.

“Fox is so encouraging she always wants us to play better and be better than we are, “ Alexis Ratner, a varsity player at SHS said. “ I always feel like she just has so much wisdom to give us, she’s always enthusiastic about our playing and is always concerned about us, she keeps us in a positive mindset.”

Ratner, a solid player on the team who has been undefeated in this season so far, says that it would be a dream to go to states.

“I know I need to work on my serve more and become a little more consistent, but overall I think I’m a pretty solid player, it’s just that sometimes I get impatient,” Ratner said. “Making it to states is something that has really motivated me throughout my high school career, but as a team I hope we all make it districts, that would be a really big accomplishment.”

So, as the team prepares to compete in schools facing against them they keep a singular goal in mind: to go to states.

“I want to say good luck to all my teammates, and I know that we will do very well,” Yang said. “Let’s make the best of this season, and lastly, lets go Solon!”