From left to right: Mia Kish ’24, Mary Anderson and Emily Sehati ’24. Sehati and Kish are doubles partners and are also the two team captains. Photo By: Chad Steinlicht

The girls tennis season has come to an end after a collection of matches and memory making

Starting the tennis season off in a match against St. Bonaventure, to closing the season playing against Santa Barbra High School, many of the VHS girls tennis players look back on this past season with joy. With the success of taking victory against Pacifica High School and winning a match against the town rivalry Buena High School, as well as the overall strong sense of community on the team, this season will be fondly remembered by many. 

Mia Kish ‘24 said, “I had a really great season to finish off all four of my years on the varsity team. The entire team was super enthusiastic and treated each other like a really tight-knit family, so it was a very sweet way to end my high school athletics career.”

Malia Johnson ‘24 said, “As a first year on the tennis team everyone was so welcoming and supportive. They were so patient while helping me learn an entirely new sport.”

While Johnson joined the team as a senior, many freshmen also did, leading to growth and new community on the team. 

Emily Sehati ‘24 said, “Our team is super freshmen heavy, so getting to know everyone especially before the school year started and really being able to see a lot of the friendships on the team blossom was really cool.”

Tyleigh Matheson ‘26 said, “I feel like we made good bonds and that our team is growing. Our first away game going to Santa Barbara was the first time our team went away together and bonded more.” 

Over the course of the season, VHS played against PHS twice, and won both times with stats of VHS v. PHS 2-0. The team beat BHS with a score of 1-0. The team had what were narrow losses to Rio Mesa and Oxnard High School, both in tie breaks. 

Thinking back on the wins against PHS, Amelia Beving ‘24 said, “The matches [against PHS ] were really satisfying for me, I enjoyed being able to communicate with my partner. Checking in with my partner is super important for a successful game and that’s how we were able to focus and beat Pacifica.”

Beving said, “Aggressively hitting back a volley when I’m up at the net is one of the most fun and satisfying moments of playing tennis; that’s definitely my favorite thing to do.”

The two captains of the team, Sehati and Kish, have known each since they were young and have had a good friendship and successful partnership as double partners on the court. 

Sehati said, “I’ve been playing for eight years and my partner, Mia Kish, and I have been working really closely. We’ve put in a lot of time in the sport and I feel like that work has really paid off, not just as athletes but off the court as well.”

Kish said, “My favorite part of the season was being able to play with my doubles partner and co-captain, Emily Sehati. We’ve known each other since preschool and played doubles together three out of the four years on the team, so it was really nice to complete our final season together.” 

Sehati said, “We had our own role models growing up on the team, so it was nice to be that person for other girls.”

Throughout the season, VHS played against Dos Pueblos High School three separate times. At the beginning of the season, halfway, and then at championships. 

Sehati said, “Mia Kish and I played doubles together and we ended up playing around 32 straight sets against three different doubles pairs and we did pretty well against two out of the three of them. Despite us being really tired and drained, we kept playing and kept playing. It really tested our limits with how hard we can hit and our communication. That really displayed an amazing amount of sportsmanship between Mia and I.”