With every play, every bruise, every win, the New Providence High School Girls Tennis Team made sure they added in all of their effort to make it their best year.

The tennis team this year had a great year as the Varsity team won four state matches, making them the Central Group 1 New Jersey State Champions. The Varsity members include Nina Suske (senior), Emma Giedraitis (senior), Olivia Torsiello (senior), Hanna Giedraitis (senior), Anya Srivistava (junior), Genesis Ramirez (junior), Meghan Sarlund (junior), Sonia Kulkarni (junior), Kate Ure (sophomore), Durga Venkatesan (sophomore), along with three new freshman, Emma Ure, Emi Goswami, and Georgia Burkitt.

Hanna Giedraitis states, “I think our season went very well. We are up against very challenging teams so our record does not always show it, but these matches prepare us for domination during state matches.”

However, before we talk about their victories, it’s important to note how far these girls have come and how much their lives have been affected by this tennis team.

Doubles, for those who do not know, is another form of the game in tennis where two players are on each side of the court, for a total of four players. In order to win a doubles match, you must trust that your partner will help you when needed. You cannot play doubles if you do not have a solid, trusting friendship with the other. And even if you are not playing doubles in the game, tennis is still a sport where friendship is important.

“Before me and my doubles partner were partners, we weren’t friends. We became better friends than ever over just practicing together and encouraging each other during our matches“freshman Emma Ure explains.

“Tennis can be a pretty individual sport, but when your teammates cheer you on or push you to do better, it helps lift your game and make you better“Meghan Sarlund says.

Emi Goswami expands on the idea of communication by saying, “I think my partner and I boosted each other a lot during matches whether or not it was just saying ‘you got this’ or ‘you’re fine, don’t worry about it’ because it made each of us feel better.”

The girls have also improved on their skills as a whole. Tennis requires speed, agility, endurance, flexibility, and strength with serious control.

Georgia Burkitt explains that she knows exactly what she wants to improve on for the next year to come: “I hope to become a more consistent player…I also hope I can work on placement so that I can finish points as soon as possible. Placement would also help me not to give the ball right to the volleyer lm the other team.”

However, strength isn’t necessarily physical.

“Tennis requires mental strength and this team has certainly demonstrated their ability to focus and stay positive” Coach Willemsen says.

But even with all of the dedication and serious playing, these girls are no strangers to having fun. Many of them said that one of their favorite things during the season was the bus rides because all they would do is just listen to music and talk. This really shows that these girls grew from friends to a huge family over time. They played, laughed, practiced, and repeated these steps constantly, making them the incredible team they turned out to be.

“New Providence Girls Tennis is an incredibly supportive and caring sport. All of these girls are kind and want you to succeed” Nina Suske says with pride.