On October 26, 2023, Colonia High’s varsity girls’ tennis season officially came to an end with its last game. It’s time to say goodbye to the seniors as they’ll be graduating. 

Jessica Lee has coached the girls’ tennis team for about five years now. She also coaches winter and spring track. She has learned much about tennis from her time on the team. 

Members on the Team:

The tennis team consists of its varsity members — Raena Patel (senior), Angelle Sherman (senior), Nifemi Olufowobi (senior), Pari Parikh (senior), Daniella Albuquerque (junior), and Nicolette Baksay (junior) — as well as JV members — Khelsey Dy (senior), Giovanna Rilho (junior), Jannah Abdelwahab (sophomore), Chaitanya Kanagal (sophomore), Siya Mod (sophomore), and Patricia Sinaga (sophomore).

The team is met with a bittersweet feeling since a good chunk of the varsity team will be leaving. Parikh, a 2nd double player who’s been on the team since her sophomore year, is disappointed with her last season being over and “wishes there was more time with [her] team” along with many of the other players.

Parikh plays 2nd doubles with Albuquerque who said, “Now that most of the senior varsity girls are leaving, the team as a whole has to fight with one another to see who deserves what spot because this season we kind of already knew but next season is a whole new game”. She continues to say, “As a team, we already knew who was going to be on varsity”, however, next year’s season will pose as a challenge for the girls since they may be getting new spots, having to step out of their comfort zone. Baksay hopes to get “new and good players from the middle school and some other new high school students”.

Lessons Learned:

The seniors have learned many things from being a part of the tennis team and can take those lessons with them as they go their separate ways. Sherman, a 2nd single player who’s been an active player for all four years of high school, believes that the season had some rough patches but was an overall good experience for her. She mentioned, “I learned different aspects of responsibility and showing up all the time… and also just being a part of a team with leadership.”

Olufowobi, 3rd single player, stated, “it always felt like a family because of how close we were and how small the team was” and went on to say, “I feel good the way I ended off the season. I really improved from how I first started so I’m proud of that. We all have each other’s backs and give each other support and advice. Even when we all lose, we have this positive outlook and still have fun together.” 

On Thursday, October 26, 2023, the Colonia High School girl tennis team had their last game of the season. Unfortunately, they lost to the Metuchen with a final 4-1 score. Yet, they ended the season with their heads held high, grateful for the time they’ve spent on the team.