Girls tennis head coach Bart Jeseritz is going into the season this year with a huge number of girls coming into the team. The frontrunners of the team are senior Ava Schroeder and junior Grace Greenwald, both of whom were voted as team captains. Schroeder and Greenwald had successful seasons last year; both qualified for the state tournament and had a team finish of seventh place out of over 30 teams.

Greenwald won the state championship in no. 1 singles last season and finished with a record of 28-4 and was also the metro champion. Schroeder lost in the quarterfinals at state in no. 2 singles and ended her season with a 20-8 record. She looks forward to playing with her new and upcoming team. The team had many girls tryout, which is going to impact the team’s state tournament greatly.

“I am looking forward to spending time with my teammates for the last time and competing with them in the metro and state tournaments,” Schroeder said.

The girls tennis team has a lot of unity, which is going to help get them through their entire season. Jeseritz knows that the team having unity is great and loves to see the girls bond. There is a lot of competition between the girls during practice and Jezeritz believes it will lift the team and make them better.

“I am so happy to see the interest in tennis at Westside grow. I expect everyone to be better because of it. More competition within the squads will just lift everyone higher and I’m very excited for that,” Jezeritz said.

With the captains leading the team, they both agree that they will be encouraging the team all season long, and pushing them to do their best.

Schroeder explained how much she loved seeing the amount of girls tryout and said that she wants them to do their best no matter what.

“Our team has a lot of potential to possibly win metros and place really well at state; the team dynamic is already strong, and I think this will be really beneficial, especially during the harder matches. I will be encouraging my teammates all season long and pushing them to do their best,” Schroeder said.

Greenwald has a similar view as her coach and teammate.

“We are putting a huge focal point on the team dynamic so I really want to encourage everyone to support each other,” Greenwald said.

Greenwald has a lot of things to look forward to going into her junior season outside of the state tournament. She wants to have a fun season and enjoy the memories she is making. She knows that the state tournament will just be her goal of the year.

“While winning state again would be great, that is just the outcome of one day. I want to be able to look back on my season and be proud of myself regardless of the end result,” Greenwald said.

The tennis team is going to prove their unity throughout the season, but Greenwald has one of her very own examples of this unity. She looks up to seniors Ava Schroeder and Caroline Krehbiel. They are both going to play an important role in her mindset throughout the season.

“They were also new to the Westside team my freshman year since they transferred from Marian, so they have always been there for me. I’m super excited for one last season with them,” Greenwald said.

With more girls on the team they are starting their season strong. The reserve team opened up on Friday March 15 against Blair.  The JV and Varsity open on Tuesday, March 19 against Millard North. Jezeritz and the team want to go out and win and show that they are a powerhouse team.

“We are playing for wins at each level, and to do that we need to be focused out of the gate, be playing as a team, and give our all,” Jezeritz said.

Greenwald says Jezeritz is encouraging as a coach.

“He also is super welcoming to working on individual struggles with each girl, which is tough in a team practice,” Greenwald said.