Bitter weather and damp courts did not stop the girls’ and boys’ tennis teams from starting the season off with multiple victories. On Feb. 8, six players from each team woke up before sunrise to play at the Village School Tournament for the first matches of the season.

The girls’ doubles teams swept, with captain Shelby Jordan and junior Betsy Hook winning the line one doubles final against St. Agnes 6-3, after beating Awty 6-2 and another team from St. Agnes 6-5. Sophomore Isabella O’Reilly and freshman Charlotte Papeians de Morchoven won the line two doubles final against Concordia 6-2 following a 6-3 win against Awty.

“This first tournament was hard because it was cold and wet, and we were all really tired,” Jordan said. “But this past year we have really been focusing on new doubles techniques, and I think implementing these new strategies really worked to our advantage and helped both doubles teams win their matches.”

Although both lines of doubles were able to complete the tournament, the final matches of line one and line two singles were canceled due to inclement conditions. Captain Sophia Huynh and sophomore Hannah Chang were both in the finals of line one and two singles, respectively, but their matches were rained out.

“The tournament against the Village School provided an exciting start for this year’s tennis season,” Chang said. “Finishing the tournament undefeated is definitely promising for our team, and we all got time to bond in the super cold since we were all suffering together.”

The boys’ varsity team also had a successful first tournament. Junior Andrew Sall lost his first match against Concordia Lutheran 3-6 as the line one singles player, putting him in the consolation bracket. He was able to come back, however, first having a bye and then winning the consolation final against Awty in a default. Line two singles player senior Eric Lee won his bracket, beating a Village School player 6-0 in the championship match.

“Despite the freezing cold, our team really felt like this tournament was a great warm-up for the upcoming season,” captain Jackson Edwards said.

Edwards and his doubles partner, sophomore George Caldwell, placed second in line one doubles. After winning their first and second matches against Awty and the Village School respectively, Edwards and Caldwell lost in the championship 1-6 against Lutheran South. Senior Bryan Trammell and junior William Urdahl placed first in line two doubles — winning the final match against a Village School team 6-0.

The season began on Feb. 19. Both girls’ and boys’ captains are optimistic about their teams’ chances this year.

“The past two years have been really good for us, and I think our team is just as strong this year,” Jordan said. “We are all really looking forward to the rest of the season, and hopefully we can pull through with a third SPC championship.”