Girls' tennis loses in CIF quarterfinals

Max GumbelStaff WriterThe Samo girls’ tennis season came to a close on Tuesday, Nov. 15 after suffering a loss to South Hills High School in the quarterfinals of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) tournament."We had a lot of promise to win CIF, and we really wanted it, so it was certainly disappointing to lose," sophomore player Julia Gordon said.But despite its finish, the season was generally very successful for the tennis team, according to senior captain Rebecca Sherouse.“The players were very dedicated to both their sport and their teammates, and that dedication is what pushed us further in CIF than we have gone in years,” Sherouse said.Though her team did not quite reach the CIF championship, Sherouse says that her final season on tennis surpassed any of her expectations.“I wanted to be the kind of captain I looked up to when I was an underclassman," Sherouse said. "I wanted to leave everything I had on the court, because I knew that after this season my Samo tennis career was over. Even though we lost, I felt a sense of accomplishment.”Coach Wilston Poon finds that the team’s success this year is a very good sign for years to come.“I saw every girl on the team fight incredibly hard. They all pushed themselves to a new level,” Poon said. “If anything, this loss will motivate the girls continuing on at Samo to continue what they have started.”mgumbel@thesamohi.com