Tough Loss in Girl's Season Opener
The Girls' Varsity Tennis team faced a challenging start to their season with a narrow 2-3 loss in their first Independent Girls' Conference (IGC) match on April 2, 2025, against Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall (CHCH). The game took place on CSW's home courts at Brook Apartments under chilly, overcast conditions. Despite illnesses that impacted the team, players brought their best effort to the court, embodying resilience and team spirit.
1st Singles – Lyla Shin
2nd Singles – McKenna Zhang
2nd Singles – McKenna Zhang
3rd Singles – Lea Beauchesne
1st Doubles – Emily Tran & Hayley Roberts
2nd Doubles – Crystal Liu & Coco Chen
Exhibition - Nia Fifield & Yuma Hatori
Exhibition - Nia Fifield & Yuma Hatori
The match format was a 6-game Pro Set with a 7-point tiebreaker at 5-5. Here’s how the players performed:
1st Singles (Loss 3-6): Freshman Lyla Shin stepped into the top singles spot and started strong, building a 3-1 lead. However, her opponent’s patient strategy and consistent play gradually wore her down. Lyla's tennis style is hard hitting ground strokes, but her opponent was more careful in her shots and played patiently waiting for Lyla to make a mistake. Evenually CHCH's strategy paid off leading to her defeat.
2nd Singles (Loss 0-6): Sophomore McKenna Zhang, known for her powerful topspin, faced a tough competitor in her first match of the season. Still clearing the cobwebs from the off-season McKenna struggled to find her rhythm. Playing more reserved, her CHCH opponent was able to capitalized on that.
3rd Singles (Loss 0-6): Lea Beauchesne, stepping in as a substitute due to an ill teammate, gave a valiant effort despite recovering from her own cold. Although she was outmatched, she sustained some strong rallies and showed visible off-season improvement.
1st Doubles (Win 6-4): Our two seasoned seniors Emily Tran and Hayley Roberts played well in their first match this season displaying synergy with good serves and excellent ball placement. Their teamwork kept the pressure on CHCH and clinched a victory.
2nd Doubles (Win 6-3): Returning duo Crystal Liu and Coco Chen have strong chemistry and always play to have a good time. Working well together at the baseline they didn’t let too many balls get passed them, leading them to a well-earned win.
Exhibition (Win 6-2): Newcomers Nia Fifield and Yuma Hatori shone in their first game-day exhibition match, proving they could be the sleeper team to watch this season. A combination of Yuma's ball placement and Nia's impressive athletic agility make for a strong partnership. Their performance set a strong foundation for the season.
Overall Score: 2-3: Always a fun match with CHCH girls tennis team. While the overall result wasn’t in our team’s favor, the match was highly competitive and with a healthy team the match could have gone either way. We look forward to playing them again later in the season.
More News from CSW
CSW—a gender-inclusive day and boarding school for grades 9-12—is a national leader in progressive education. We live out our values of inquiry-based learning, student agency, and embracing diverse perspectives in every aspect of our student experience. Young people come to CSW to learn how to learn and then put what they learn into action—essential skills they carry into their futures as doers, makers, innovators, leaders, and exceptional humans who do meaningful work in the world.