Just last Monday, the Varsity Girls Tennis Team defeated Glenbrook North, ending their regular season and marking the beginning of their playoffs. The girls have shown continuous determination and dedication to their sport, dominating the courts with a current record of 19-7. 

In addition to their win against Glenbrook North last Monday, the team also celebrated their seniors on the team, all of whom have impacted and helped the team be successful this season. 

One specific senior, Lainey O’Neil, has had an immense impact and role in the success of the team throughout her four years on the team. Lainey started playing tennis when she was just six years old. She chose to try out tennis because her mom played tennis, and she ended up loving it. 

Not only is Lainey an outstanding tennis player, but she is also a great captain and leader.  Maeve Camoletto, a freshman on the tennis team, explains how Lainey is an “amazing friend who is always smiling and positive on and off the courts.”

Senior Liz Laughton, also a member of the tennis team says that Lainey is “someone who is very driven and always helps the team stay on task all the time so we don’t have to do 5 30s” (a running drill that the team does).

Off the tennis courts, Lainey pushes herself to stay on top of her academics. Just having committed to the University of Richmond for tennis and academic career, Lainey describes how difficult it is to be recruited for tennis. In other sports such as football or lacrosse, there are many positions that need to be filled in order to have a team large enough to play. For tennis, however, there are typically only 8-10 people on a team and only 1-3 spots open per year. Therefore, the spots are already very limited which makes recruiting extremely challenging.

“On many D1 teams the roster is composed of about half international players which leaves very few spots for American players,” O’Neil said.

When it comes to committing to a college for athletics, Lainey feels that Richmond fulfills everything she is looking for in a college. The campus is beautiful, the academics are strong, there is a fun social atmosphere, and the tennis program is solid. Lainey says that “the team and coaching staff are all awesome and really stood out to me! When I visited the campus I completely fell in love with it and knew it was where I wanted to go!!” 

Something that Lainey is going to miss next year is all the team bonding activities along with the coaches. 

“We do so many fun team events throughout the season that are always so fun, the coaches are some of the best people I know. It’s going to be so weird not seeing them next fall!” 

One of Lainey’s favorite memories this season was the home cookout. Every year, the tennis team hosts a quad where the team grills burgers and hotdogs for all the parents and players. 

As the season progresses, Lainey is ready to continue her debut all the way to the state tournament. While a part of her is a little nervous, she is most excited to get to play some good matches with Isabelle Chong (her doubles partner.) 

Just like last season, Lainey and Isabelle are ready to tackle any challenge that comes their way.