![Students begin a practice Kahoot for French class. Walter Johnson offers a total of six languages including American Sign Language, Chinese, Italian and more, giving students the opportunity to explore different languages and cultures. “I switched [from Spanish] to Latin freshman year and I love it,” junior Abigial Samuels said.](https://www.wjpitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/IMG_0976-1200x675.jpg)
This season has been fairly successful for the team, as they have maintained the same record from last year.
“I was very pleased with most aspects of the team this year,” said coach Mike Laukaitis. “It was a joy having practice every day with the team. They came ready to play and more importantly, ready to learn how to be better tennis player[s].”
Most recently, in the regionals tournament lasting from Oct. 26 to Oct. 30, sophomore Sarah Bernstein and junior Sarah Andrews won second place in girls doubles, qualifying them for the State tournament in the spring.
“We played really well and we got farther than we were supposed to since we were seeded third,” said Bernstein.
Considering that the team lost four of its top six players to last year’s graduation, their performance this season has been quite extraordinary.
“Many players really stepped up their game this year,” said Laukaitis. “We had some real nice wins, especially against Wootton. Our top three singles players just hit winner after winner. It was nice to see that Doubles No. 2 sealed the victory with a straight set win. It takes a whole team to beat the top Division I teams.”
As well as a whole team, it takes a good coach to beat the top Division I teams.
“I think that [Coach Laukaitis] is a great coach,” said Bernstein. “He plays very well and inspires us to do well in our matches. He also gives us great strategies.”
Yet, like all coaches, Laukaitis can still find room for improvement with his players.
“Well, if there was one thing I felt this team needed to be, it was more aggressive,” said Laukaitis. “We tried working on this a lot throughout the season. It’s hard to take risks in tennis; it’s much more natural to play it safe and wait for the opponent to make a mistake.”
As for next year, the team will face similar challenges to this year, saying goodbye to many seniors.
“We are losing half of our seniors on the doubles roster next year, but we hope we will be able to still maintain our high ranking in the county,” said Bernstein.