On Thursday September 5, 2024, a bright and sunny day, it was the perfect day for a tennis match. In their first match of the season against Exeter West Greenwich, the Toll Gate Girls Tennis Team worked extremely hard, showing a promising start to their season.
First singles and captain, Emma Hindle, battled it out in a tough match, and eventually was bested by EWG’s Claire Titus. The rest of the girls singles met similar fates, with the same hard effort evident in their individual matches. Senior Caroline Polo, Toll Gate’s third singles, in a very close match, took a hard fall in the middle of her set. After being quickly assisted by coaches and the athletic trainer, she was bandaged up. It was then her decision whether to continue the match or not, and after a couple of minutes and talking to both her coaches and family, Caroline bravely walked back onto the court, still giving it her all. When asked about her experience during the match, she said “It was going pretty good, it was a very close game, I think I did pretty well. It was going well until I fell down and scraped my knee. And then I just kept going.”
Then came the doubles, where the girls still struggled. Second doubles duo Ella Mehta and Aubree Flanagan won their match in a strong finish. Overall, it was a tough match, yet there was a lot of good teamwork and sets played. Emma Hindle comments, “As our first match, everyone was a little bit nervous and it was a bit stressful. Overall, I think we tried hard and we will continue to get better as the season progresses!”
The tennis team’s new coaches, Elizabeth Vecchio and Mackenzie Blackmer, both alumni of Toll Gate and the Toll Gate tennis team, stated, “It’s good to be back.” In a statement about this match and the team itself, they said, “We’re seeing a lot of good teamwork, which has come a long way since we started a few weeks ago. I think we’ve been very, as new coaches, excited to get to know all the girls. And in the past few weeks we’ve definitely gotten to know how they play, and how they play with each other.”
The Girls Tennis Team has a bright season ahead of them!
