2024 has been a year in which the Winchester Thurston fall sports teams were thriving! The girls tennis team especially has had an awesome season. This year, the team welcomed 3 talented freshmen: Hanna Albert, Fiona Kamin, and Anya Mahtani. These three team members played a pivotal role in leading our team to victory this season. Due to their high positions on the team they all had opponents that were often older than them, however that did not stop these freshmen from succeeding. “I’m excited to continue playing tennis throughout high school” Fiona stated. “My hope is that I can continue meeting new people who play. We did really well this season, and I hope we can do even better next year!”

The amount of victories that the Winchester Thurston girls tennis team had was impressive. The first and second singles players, Marann Buckonavich and Fiona made it to the WPIAL Section Singles Tournament. They also made it to the WPIAL Section Doubles Tournament along with the first doubles players, Elena Clark and Hannah Albert. The second doubles players, Lucy Bair and Raghad Hassan, and exhibition doubles players, Asata Brown and Fayza Hamilton, did a magnificent job, winning most of their matches. Of course, the team as a whole did a splendid job as well. Although we lost against local rival Oakland Catholic, we were still the runners up in the section. We made it to the playoffs and won 4-1 against Blackhawk, but lost against North Catholic, ending our season. Overall, the team has demonstrated a sizable amount of talent and expertise in the sport, and will continue to flourish as time goes on.

Our team captains, Marann and Elena, also played a huge part in making our team shine. The contrast between Marann’s bold and cheerful personality and Elena’s calmness and patience was essential to keeping the team spirit strong. “I’ve learned that no matter who is the captain, everyone can lead the team and everyone brings something to the table,” Elena explained. “The captain’s job is simply to help people believe in themselves and believe that what they can offer is valuable.” These team captains showcased lots of leadership and exceeded the expectations of what it means to be a role model for the girls tennis team.

To conclude, the Winchester Thurston girls tennis team had an incredible season. It was so hard to say goodbye to our two seniors, Elena and Asata, who brought so much positivity to the team and overall, were very good role models. We are very proud of our work for this season and are ready to come back even stronger for the next. Go Bears!