n their first match of the season against Watkins Mill, the girls tennis team reinforced one of the strongest characteristics of the WJ community: a willingness to give back, help and contribute to those who are in need.

The Wildcats (Division I) arrived at their match at Watkins Mill (Division III) prepared to play their season opener, only to find that many of the Watkins Mill players had never played tennis before and that the team did not have an official coach. According to WJ players, Watkins Mill’s courts were ill-prepared, lacking net straps to keep the nets steady and low, which made it difficult to play a consistent and competitive match.

Watkins Mill did not have second and third doubles teams, so an automatic forfeit victory went to WJ in those matches. Meanwhile, in the first doubles matchup, senior co-captains Maggie Speer and Ksenia Kirilyuk recognized the uneven level of skill and realized the opportunity to promote the game of tennis by teaching the Wolverine players the rules and fundamentals of tennis. The two instructed how to serve, where to stand on the court and when to rotate positions on the court.

“We could have been jerks and not helped them,” said Speer. “But we were classy women and taught girls who were struggling what we know and helped them improve their tennis game.”

The opportunity to compete at a high level while being a student-athlete creates a unique opportunity for those of all skills to participate and learn the game. Speer and Kirilyuk together demonstrated why high school sports are not just about competition; it enables people to learn new skills, meet others and to simply have a good time.

“It was the ultimate act of sportsmanship,” said athletic director Sue Amos. “It showed maturity beyond their years.”

Amos explained that with individual-based sports, mismatches in skill level occasionally happen, especially in golf, track and tennis.

“You just don’t want teams to be mean-spirited,” she said.

“It was fun helping out people who like the game [of tennis],” said Kirilyuk. ” I really enjoyed it.”

She said she felt great to be able to teach the game of tennis, enabling and promoting “the opportunity for people to become friends and family” with the Watkins Mill players.

Amos credited the team with representing the entire WJ community toward their high-school counterparts, illustrating why WJ continues to be known for their positive contributions to others and its dedication to giving back to other communities in other ways besides sports.

Last year WJ alone raised $29,000 for the annual Pennies for Patients drive and promoted numerous fundraisers to a long list of charity organizations including those who helped the Haiti and Chilean earthquake relief projects.

“I’m not surprised because the school has a history of actively helping out in the community, said junior Sarah Richman. “We’re passionate about sports, so we’re passionate about helping out people in sports.”

Speer affirmed if a similar situation occurs during the situation, “we’ll just do the same thing. We’ll put smiles on our faces and help that team out who is struggling.”

The lack of proper net straps has raised some questions as to how county schools allocate their funds for each sport, even though there may be other reasons for the inadequate equipment. (For more information about allocation of funds, see page 2.)

With the match at Wootton too late to cover, the 5-4 tennis team will look to play its next match today against Paint Branch 3:30 p.m.