Girls Tennis

By: Marlena Kruman

Fall is a time of apple picking, the beginning of school, warm sweaters, and crackling fires. It is also a time of fall sports, which, for athletes, juxtaposes this normally relaxing autumn environment with the high-tensions games and difficult practices of their designated sports.

One of the shortest fall seasons- due to the New England weather- is the girls varsity tennis team. They, in particular, suffer the stress of their sports schedule. In order to play all of the teams in Division 3, as well as compete in Team and Individual Sectionals, Homer tennis plays three to four matches per week. As said by team captain Catarina Kruman, “Although our practice and match schedule was very busy, I was very proud of how our girls preformed and continued to work hard. Without the dedication of each girl, our season most definitely would not have been so successful.”

And Catarina Kruman is correct; despite the stress of the matches, the Homer tennis team has had an excellent season. In Team Sectionals- where one team plays against another team with the goal of winning the majority of the matches to move on- Homer got a by in the first round. This means that due to their team record of 7-2 in their league, they were able to skip the first round of sections and play into the second. In fact, their record was only beaten by the undefeated record of Christian Brother’s Academy- with 9-0. The first team Homer played was South Jefferson, winning the majority of the matches with a close 4-3 win. The girls then moved on to the third round of Team Sectionals- the semi-finals. The girls suffered a loss of 0-7 against the undefeated Oneida girls, but felt accomplished to have gotten so far in Team Sections. Team member Josie Williams said that, “As a first year player on the team, playing in the [team] sectional semifinals was really cool because you could tell just how close knit our team was- which is something you don’t find in every sport.”

But the season was not over yet; the individual players that maintained a certain win-loss ratio throughout their season- dependant on their position- were able to gain a spot in sectionals. These members included: Marlena Kruman at first singles, Catarina Kruman at second singles, Ally Hammond at third singles, and Molly Burhans and Ellis Han at first doubles. The first singles, second singles, and first doubles also gained bys due to their records during the season. Each of the girls made it to at least the second round of Individual Sections.

Most notable was the performance by Molly Burhans and Ellis Han, winning two out of their three matches and earning themselves a spot at state-qualifiers. This is quite a feat, considering that the last Homer girls tennis player to qualify was Katie Mercer, in 2016. Although the doubles team lost against the Fayette Manlius Hornets with a score of 6-2, 6-1, competing against some of the best tennis players in the state was quite rewarding. In fact, member Ellis Han said that, “[she] was excited so excited to make it to state qualifiers. [She] really felt like Molly and [herself] had worked really hard, and it payed off. When [they] got to state qualifiers, [they] were both a little nervous but [their] energy on the court was great, and [they] played our hearts out. [They] didn’t win, but [she] is still proud.” Evidently, there is a lot for her, and for the entirety of the tennis team, to be proud of.