At Athens Drive High School, the tennis team is more than just a group of players; it is a family. The team is organized according to the coach’s judgment and uses a ladder structure to challenge matches. 

“Tennis teams are put in ladders based on ability using the coach’s judgment and challenge matches. During tryouts, everyone played the people in their groups in shortened matches, and then players were regrouped for the next day of tryouts. This process continued until we had the top 15 established in a rough ladder,” said Analeise Poulin, women’s tennis coach. 

This year the team decided to use a new method to rank their players. They are ranked by their skills in specific drills instead of their outcome in games. They are also able to challenge players who are above them if they desire to move up the ranking. The team usually uses Wednesdays to challenge other players to move up or down. 

“Having an accurate ladder is important for playing against other schools because our number one plays their number one. It is considered cheating to rank players out of order such that player one plays against player six,” said Poulin. 

This year, there was a big interest in the women’s tennis team, which led to a large turnout at tryouts. They had to cut the team down to 15 players, which is the maximum possible number for everyone to fit on the bus for away games.

“Sometimes it can get a little too competitive, like people get ready upset when they lose challenges and then they lose their spot. But I think it’s good to be competitive cause then you can get better,” said Avani Jamwal, senior.  

Jamwal is one of the team’s captains as well as their number one singles player. She recently won her match against Sanderson High School. Even under pressure, she always strives to be positive, showing her intense ambition.  

“It does get stressful sometimes because the people that I play against are like top state champions and D1 players, so then I feel more pressure with that,” said Jamwal. 

In addition, this year, coach Poulin has shown and cared for her players in a more understanding and empathic way. It made it easier for them to play and have better relationships.

“Even if I got switched down, we still would’ve been partners and in the end, in terms of the team our coach just puts us with whoever we play best with and we just are paired for the whole season,” said Bayan Al Masri, junior player.

The two doubles players, Al Masri and Olivia Kruse have a good relationship with each other. They are always incredibly supportive and don’t pressure each other, even in the heat of their matches. They always try to encourage each other with both actions and words, making them confident that if one of them isn’t at the right place, the other can help support them.

“The season didn’t end with a win but we all played really hard and really well during conference and throughout the season. Were a really close team and no matter the outcome we always had fun. Everyone grew and improved and grew closer through it,” said Al Masri.