Written by: Rylee Sturgis, Staff Writer
FAMILY: Poly’s 2022 Girls Tennis team is a welcoming and tight-knit community!
Starting the 2022 girl’s tennis season, 5 varsity starters out of 9 were lost from the prior year. With a relatively new tennis team, returning and new team members wasted little time making their best efforts to improve and gain experience. The team’s varsity leaders, assisting in this process, include Seniors Abby Weatherly and Laine Yeager, Juniors Nicole Mateljan and Anya Ivy-Curwen, and Sophomore Cora Holmes. Nick Mateljan, the head coach, has been at Poly for eight years, coaching tennis for a total of 31 years. Emphasizing teamwork, Coach Mateljan accentuates that the team “[would] not be able to rely on one strong player to lead”; he stresses the need for the team to work together as much as possible in order to succeed.
Ivy-Curwen (11) serves the ball at a match
Beyond just playing tennis, the team ultimately considers being together a vitally important endeavor. Despite the competitive nature of the sport, there is little ill will between members and they all push each other to do their best. With mutual comradery an integral aspect of the tennis team, team members forge lasting relationships with one another, particularly when considering their ability to rely on one another on and off the court. New to tennis, Virakthyda Hang (11) expressed that the team “has a welcoming community” and that Coach Mateljan particularly helped in developing team skills. Other members are very open to new players, and Hang believes she truly found a place for herself. Ivy-Curwen (11) described the girls on her team as nice people, making it “fun to build those relationships with them.” According to Abby Davies (11), meeting new people enhanced her experience on the team greatly; her favorite part has been “hanging out with everyone,” while also participating in the sport.
Claire Kunzman (11) and Malia Douglas (11) high five
Despite hardship, the Tennis team continues to rise to the occasion and never lets hope out of their sights. Coach Mateljan believes it is critical that every member of the team remains positive “either while playing on the courts or cheering from the sidelines,” and the girls have responded as such, encouraging each other and continuing to maintain healthy attitudes no matter the outcome of a game. This season, the team, during pre-league, has played against some of the top teams in the Inland Empire (alongside North and Temescal Canyon). With their league matches beginning in full swing, come watch and show your Poly Pride for the 2022 girl’s tennis team!