After getting off to a shaky start, the Lady Dons have managed to get their season back on track, managing to squeak past Burlingame 4-3, on Oct. 13.
Having lost a significant number of graduating seniors, this year’s team initially had issues replicating the strength of last year’s squad.
“Half our lineup is gone,” says junior Nora Liu, “[Last year’s] lineup was a lot more solid.”
Despite this drawback, the team has managed to emerge victorious in matches that they didn’t stand a chance in last year, such as their Sept. 26 bout against Lowell.
Their surprising success is a result of the lower-positioned girls from last year stepping up and playing much higher positions than in previous years.
“The players that were inexperienced last year have…improved,” says junior Diana Gong. “A lot of [junior varsity] people stepped up…[we] just need a little push, then maybe [we] can make CCS this year.”
At the moment, the team is in 4th place, behind San Mateo, Carlmont, and Menlo-Atherton. Their big wins over Burlingame and Lowell propelled them to the fourth position in the Peninsula Athletic League’s (PAL) standings.
Coach Dave Owdom has high expectations for this team, explaining that “they’ve got a good team chemistry …[and] they’re getting more confident as they’re playing.”
If they are to achieve their ambitious yet seemingly realistic goal of advancing to CCS, the girls know that they have to keep a strong mentality. “[We have to] be prepared for what [we’re] gonna get [and] never give up,” says junior Keertana Namaduri.
Overcoming Burlingame on Thursday, the Lady Dons were short on varsity players, so Coach Dave Owdom had to make major adjustments and move up some junior varsity players to varsity, forcing players who never played with each other before to play doubles together in high positions. Sophomore Marie Patchner and junior Emma Clarke, who played No. 2 doubles together for the first time, overcame this difficulty and won 6-3 and 6-0 providing the red and black with much-needed points.
“[They have] really good team chemistry,” says Coach Dave, on Patchner and Clarke. “They’ve gotten a lot better.”
The Dons also picked up an early win at the No. 1 singles position after Burlingame sophomore Halle Martinucci tore a muscle, forcing her to drop the game.
Aragon’s No. 1 doubles tandem, juniors Nora Liu and Keertana Namuduri, won their match as well, 7-5 and 6-1. Namuduri admits they could have done better the first set, but in the second set, she says they were, “more focused, more intent on getting points,” which ultimately led to their win.
Junior Mavis Ibasco won the final and deciding match for the Dons, finishing with a 7-5 and 6-3 win, clinching the match for the Dons.
The Dons will host San Mateo before wrapping up their season at Menlo Atherton and Hillsdale in a trio of games that will decide their PAL seed.
