Girls' tennis squad without faults

Girls' tennis squad without faults

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

By Max Goldman, Allderdice High School (City of Pittsburgh Schools)

The Allderdice girls' tennis team has closed out yet another dominant season, securing the City League title once again. The team has been an almost unbeatable force in recent years, demonstrating this in its training for this past year's new City Championship format, as well as its one competitive City League team, Perry.

The team is coached by chemistry teacher Sally Martin, who has put together a strong starting seven this year. Leading the team are juniors Gayle Garvin and Gilli Mizrahi, and senior Anna Morin. They are followed by the doubles teams of sophomore Lauren Rubin and junior Miriam Shiffman, as well as junior Jennifer Valdivia and freshman Emily Wolfson. The bench also plays an important role, including the team's emotional support, senior Becca Droz.

Together, this team has worked diligently in practices and was able to continue the girls' tennis team's long line of success. A usual practice begins with an emphasis on nutrition in which "Pretzels, chocolate, grapes and Swedish Fish are typical," said Mizrahi. This is followed by a number of practice drills including lunges and stretching while counting in British, Australian, and the team's favorite, Ubbie Dubbie.

Although this hard-working team hadn't found many City League obstacles in the past, they were faced with a new challenge. "This is the first year there will be a City League Playoff", said Martin. The winner of that playoff will then play the winner of the WPIAL division, which Martin admittedly called "a much harder division."

However, the team has had a great deal of experience with these top-notch teams including Oakland Catholic, Ellis and Gateway. This helped it further separate itself from the rest of the City League, and gave it even more confidence in its matches against Perry, whom it defeated 4-1 on both Monday, October 1st and in the City Championship.

This win was important to the team because "they're competitive and we're competitive too," said Garvin.

The team followed the City Championship with a strong showing in the singles division of the playoffs. The team took the first three spots, led by Garvin who defeated Mizrahi, 6-3, 6-0 in the final. Morin closed out the top three, tying Perry's Danielle Jade Ufolla. Garvin will be accompanied by Mizrahi and Morin, who defeated Shiffman and Rubin, in the City League's doubles final.