Boro Tennis takes part in Ocean County Tournament

Photo courtesy of the girls tennis team

Team huddle before the match.

Singles players, junior Dayana Auquilla, junior Sarah Caldes, and senior Emma Melito were all paired against their long time rivals; Point Beach. First singles player, Auquilla played an impressive match- winning her first set 6-3, and just falling short at 4-6 in the second. In the third set her opponent came back for the victory, and Auqilla finished with a loss in her tie-breaking set. Second singles, Melito, was the only player to win their first match. Melito played an intense first set with a score of 4-6. She came around and demolished her opponent in the last set, finishing 6-1. As for the second round, it didn’t go so well for Melito. Tired from the first match she lost 6-2 and 6-1 against Central Regional. 

The doubles matches were challenging and unfortunately ended with losses all around. Both first and second doubles lost to Central Regional. Although players tried their best, their hard work was no match to the rival team’s skill. First doubles players, junior Charlotte St. Martin and junior Julia Ferrara, managed to score a couple of points. However, the final set scores were 2-6 and  0-6. Second Doubles were played by the lone freshman Sophia Ferrara and junior Mackenzie Smith who lost both sets 0-6 and 0-6. After the tournament was over, Sophia admits, “I love getting the chance to play, it was a great opportunity for me to grow as a player, especially with all the support I get from the team being the only freshman.” Sophia has improved a lot since the beginning of the season and now calls the score as deuce instead of 40-40. 

The Lady Panthers tennis team doesn’t let losses crush their spirit, they are only motivated to improve and open to working harder on their skills. For some, the tournament may be seen as an unsuccessful experience, but they simply used this tournament as an opportunity to grow as players and have fun.