Update, Oct. 27: This story was updated to correct that Isabelle Ji is a ninth grader, not a senior.
Every point counts. The words echo through the head of junior Paola Almeda as she takes hold of her tennis racquet, eyes narrow and focused. Sunlight pours onto the court, players and onlookers all watching with bated breath. Every. Point. Counts.
On Oct. 14, the girls tennis team made every point count, winning the IHSA 1A State Championship by one point — the team’s third championship in four official seasons. The six who competed at state included seniors Olivia Gin and Tara Sawhney; juniors Paola Almeda and Shelby Hackett; and ninth graders Sophia Holt and Isabelle Ji.
Paola placed second, Sophia Holt placed sixth, and the doubles team of Tara and Isabelle Ji placed fourth. All four girls earned all-state honors.
Olivia, a captain, said that successes off each individual match helped lead the team to victory throughout the long and complicated championship process.
“Knowing how each match we won counted as points that would be added to our overall score forced us to be mindful of how we played,” Olivia said. “If we were losing, we would have to play more defensively to keep the game in play and make our opponents make more mistakes than us.”
Asa Townsend, an assistant coach, explained that paying attention to each individual point was an integral part of winning the championship.
“Our team dynamic this season was to err on the side of aggression — that was our mindset the entire season,” Mr. Townsend said. “We also emphasized that every point mattered.”
Paola, who placed second in singles, thinks that much of the time, the best teamwork comes from working independently towards a collective goal — and that it’s important to have a personal set of incentives in your head even while working with a team.
“One of my own main motivations that brought me to the finals at state was the fact that I felt like I needed to prove something,” Paola said. “I have a lot of friends that play tennis competitively at other schools and although I’ve done well at state in doubles, I wanted to prove to them and to myself that I could get far in singles as well.”
Additionally, Paola believes that the team’s shared motivation and confidence served as a propeller toward triumph in the championship.
“We had already made it that far, and from all of the practice and past matches during the season, I think we knew that we were very capable of taking first place,” Paola said. “I think also that the way we all qualified for state and were all going through it together was very encouraging and motivating to us.”
