In recent years, the Dominion Girls Varsity Tennis team has been one of the most successful in the school’s history. In 2013, the team won the District title. Since then, the team has lost six of its ten players, and because of this, the team now mainly consists of players new to the team.

One of the team’s new players, Ashley Carney, says being on the team is “a lot of fun, learning and hard work.”

Coach Holly Flynn says losing the last year’s seniors is a “major impact” and that “the few [players] who returned must help the new players learn.”

Of the new players, “most of them are new to the sport, though two of them have been playing for quite some time,” said veteran player Valena Doe. Flynn says there’s a “wide range of skill” and that the new players “will be learning a lot.”

In regards to their training, Carney says that they’ve “been working on the rules of doubles, including strategies and different lines.”

With the team’s past success, hopes for the team are high, and Doe says that they will “try as hard as [they] can” to repeat it. And for the new players, the team’s past success can be quite intimidating, though Carney says, “it’s exciting, though there’s a lot of pressure.”

The team lost 6-3 at their first match on Friday, March 21 against Woodgrove, exacting revenge though in their rematch 5-4. Carney says that their loss was “disappointing, but makes us realize that we will have to work really hard for every win.”

Since that time, the team has gone 8-2 with wins in each of their last five matches. They face Loudoun County at home on Monday, April 28. The Conference Tournament begins in two weeks on Monday, May 12 with the team possibly hosting the first round.