The Seaholm Girls Varsity Tennis team, a possible State Championship contender, recently participated in their first tournament this past weekend in Traverse City. The team placed first out of the seven teams there.
"I'm really proud of the girls, we were working very hard for this,” said senior captain Sammy Shebib. "The weather was terrible, and we still came out on top.”
The team battled through many poor elements during the tournament including times of rain, cold, and even the occasional snow shower.
"It snowed a bit and lightly hailed which made the courts a little slippery and made it hard to see," senior captain Kaitlyn Miller said. "The cold in general was tough to play in-definitely not good tennis weather."
Between matches, Maples could be found in the cars near by to escape the frigid conditions and harsh environment.
Sophomore Allie Foreman whose position is four singles, senior captains Katie Frazier and Ashley Roth played singles two and three, and Sammy Shebib partnered with Elizabeth Gunkle to win their respected matches while at the tournament. Every player scored points toward the victory.
“Honestly, it was pretty easy for me because of all the conditioning and training our new coach had us do,” sophomore Allie Foreman said. “We are also all a close team- so there’s good team support.”
Players agreed that the most exciting match was four doubles with Sammy Shebib and Elizabeth Gunkle. Their final match went to a tie break after a long match of back and forth and they won first place. As a team, the Maples reached first place by one point beating out Traverse City 19-18.
After losing only one graduated senior from last year, the team plans to go all-out with their play on the court and continue this winning streak into future events.
"Our line-up is strong and we are hungry to win," Shebib said.
Shebib, playing through a torn rotator cuff, receives cortisone shots in order to play in her matches. Her partner, Gunkle, has chronic knee problems and these injuries set them back to a position to play the slot of four doubles.
Prior to the season, the team had two scrimmages against Detroit Country Day and Cranbrook where no scores were kept due to scrimmages being used as a way to set up the team’s line-up.
“They were a good beginning to the season and good practice for the tournament last weekend,” said senior captain Katie Frazier. “It helped us get ready for our real matches.”
