New courts serve as motivation

Girls’ tennis hopeful for a good season

Sophomore+Natalie+Lorentz+focuses+on+returning+the+ball+during+Parks+7-0+win+against+the+Cooper+Hawks+on+Sept.+11.

Joe Brandel

Sophomore Natalie Lorentz focuses on returning the ball during Park’s 7-0 win against the Cooper Hawks on Sept. 11.

Jackson Eilers

Sophomore Natalie Lorentz focuses on returning the ball during Park's 7-0 win against the Cooper Hawks on Sept. 11.
Joe Brandel
Sophomore Natalie Lorentz focuses on returning the ball during Park’s 7-0 win against the Cooper Hawks on Sept. 11.

Starting the season with new tennis courts put up this summer, the girls’ tennis season began on a positive note, winning two home matches against teams they lost to last year.

Carey Hermanson, the girls’ varsity coach, said she is excited for the new season after seeing how serious the girls are about tennis.

“This is one of the best teams I’ve coached,” Hermanson said. “I’m really excited to see where we fall in the new conference.”

Girls’ varsity has a record of 5 wins and 5 losses, playing against non-conference teams. Playing against challenging opponents including Edina and Wayzata, each ranked as one of the top 5 teams in the state, allows the girls to play a high level of tennis Hermanson said.

Senior captain Sophia Noreen was happy with the start of the season after beating South St. Paul and Minneapolis Southwest, teams the girls lost to last season, on new, orange courts.

“The courts were really bright at first and the light reflects off of the grey parts but I think after practicing on them a few times we got used to it,” Noreen said. “Most teams play on green surfaces so now that we are used to them I feel like we have an advantage.”

Sophomore Natalie Lorentz is currently ranked 6th place in the state. State rankings comes from how well an individual did in their last season and how well they are doing in their current season.

“During the summer I play 3 to 4 hours per day and play almost every day, with tournaments on the weekend,” Lorentz said. “My goal for this season is to make it to state.”

Girls’ tennis has a game Saturday, Sept. 27 at 10 a.m. against Bloomington Kennedy. A majority of their next games are against conference opponents as the season comes to a close.