Women’s Tennis is coming to an end for the spring semester. Although they lost at the tournament in Modesto, they won their conference game which was a big highlight of the season.
They still hope to grow stronger for the fall even though they’ve had a solid run. Head coach, Shannon Smith, believes that she has a stronger team compared to last semester.
“We didn’t do very well last year,” Smith said. “We didn’t have a big team before, but now we have 10 girls who help push each other.”
One of the players, Chiara Sobenes, is considered the number one player for
the team according to Smith. She was a runner-up for singles and doubles in the Modesto tournament, pushing herself hard this season while encouraging others to do the same.
“I think I’ve been having a pretty solid season,” Sobenes said. “But I think I should’ve pushed a little harder”.
She felt intimidated by the person who placed first at the tournament, which
affected her performance.
I want to believe in myself more. Tennis for me is a relaxing moment. I drop all the tensions I have from school and I enjoy this time,” Sobenes said.
This is going to be her last season playing at Fresno City College, but she wants to continue playing at Fresno State.
Another top player, Sarah Vor, has been playing well this season. Winning doubles in the CVC tournament as well as placing in the quarter-finals for singles.
“My goal is hopefully to get recruited to Fresno Pacific University on a school scholarship to play tennis for their team,” Vor said.
She also wants to bring awareness to the difficulties of being a student-athlete. “Everyone on the team is working really hard. We have to maintain our grades as well as being student-athletes,” Vor said.
She encourages her teammates to make sure that self-care is a priority as well since student-athletes spend most of their time in school or practicing.
Coach Smith hopes to recruit more students to join next season but expressed just how difficult it is.
“I used to talk to at least 21 people, but only about six reached out, along with some other surprises,” Smith said. “I don’t know why women’s sports are so tough to recruit for. They want to get into school, they want to work, and want to go into other schools, so it’s difficult.”
