4/2 – Andover: 7, Groton: 2
This Wednesday, Girls Tennis faced Groton in a season-opening match, where they showcased their hard work through both preparation and impressive performance. The team’s commitment to refining their skills and collaborating in doubles was evident as they executed well and supported each other throughout the match.
Lena Ciganer-Albeniz ’25 emphasized the team’s efforts leading up to the match, creating chemistry in pairs for doubles that translated into their impressive wins.
“Leading up to this match, it was honestly a lot because we had to sort out the ladder for singles and doubles. We did a lot of match play, but we tested out a lot of different doubles pairing combinations. Because we were able to do that, we were really prepared for today, and that’s why we won all three doubles [matches],” said Ciganer-Albeniz.
Nitya Madduri ’28 highlighted the close-knit kinship within the team that helped emphasize values of communication and team spirit.
“Definitely a strength is keeping each other hyped up and keeping open communication between all, and the relationship between our two coaches. Our captains and everyone else on the team are super tight-knit and we all have strong relationships with one another,” said Madduri.
Mercan Draman ’26 added to the team’s resilience and unity, emphasizing a moment when everyone gathered to watch a match and cheer on their teammate.
“We lost to Groton last year, and we expected it to be a very hard or very close match today. We were all pleasantly surprised and proud of everyone overall. When everyone was done with their matches, we were all huddling up under blankets because it was so cold and watching everyone play. Nitya’s match was the last one to finish, so we all went to the court next to hers, stood in a line, and cheered her on for every single point,” said Draman.
According to Ciganer-Albeniz, Madduri delivered a strong performance against a tough opponent, displaying hard work and resilience in a stressful tie-breaker.
“She is [a] Freshman and our only new player on the team this year. Obviously, it’s not easy when it’s your first time with anything, so she crushed it. [In] her singles match, she was playing well, but she had a tough opponent… She really stayed resilient and strong throughout the whole match. Even after she lost the second set closely in the tie breaker, she wasn’t complaining. She wasn’t down on herself or anything, and she pulled through really strong in the third set,” said Ciganer-Albeniz.
Coming off her win, Madduri highlighted the team’s support, which helped her adjust to the nerves before the match and gain confidence in her abilities.
“Initially, I was quite anxious. So I told my doubles partner, Co-Captain Amy [Oku ’25], and she was super supportive as well and told us to breathe… I found that telling your teammates how you feel is super important,” said Madduri. “[Moving forward, we will] brush up on doubles, even though we performed really well today, and then work on approaching and coming up to the net more. But I feel like we’re in really good shape.”
Girls Tennis will travel to Noble & Greenough on Saturday.
