Aliso’s Varsity Tennis is on its way to winning another league title, potentially becoming a sports dynasty.
A sports dynasty is considered to be when a team wins three titles in six years. However, the term “titles” is very vague. In high school sports would it be considered three straight years of winning league or having to win three CIF titles in six years?
If the girl’s tennis team were to win league this year, this would give them their fifth straight league win. The only other team to do this was Aliso soccer, both boys and girls. Jeff Pinter, Aliso’s Varsity girl’s tennis coach, definitely thinks his team can accomplish this feat.
Coach Pinter said, “If you were to have asked me this question last week I would’ve said our chances our slim but after facing our biggest league competitor [San Juan Hills], I’d say we have a 99 percent chance of making it to playoffs.”
While making it to playoffs doesn’t mean being number one in the league; the rules state the three best teams make it to playoffs. However, the overwhelming sense of confidence from a coach definitely counts for something.
Coach Pinter admits that the loss of the seniors from the past year has affected how the success of the team. However, he has anticipated this and is training his team harder than ever, so they can reach their goal of league champions.
On Sept. 10, the girls played against JSerra Lions, a very tough private school, which has been one of Aliso Girl’s Tennis team’s biggest non-league rivals. The girls stayed very consistent throughout the entirety of the game, only once giving the Lions an opportunity to win. The Wolverines took the first set 4-2, again took the second set 2-5, and closed set three 2-3. This means the Wolverines took home the win with an impressive score of 11-7.
When asked about how he thought the JSerra game went, Coach Pinter admitted, “Based on that, I knew we had a strong team out there and we were going to be in the hunt once we were going to be in League.”
For five years in a row, Aliso has been able to sweep league, meaning they have not lost to any other high schools in their bracket. Last year, they didn’t lose a single CIF-SS division I game, even to the undefeated Los Osos Grizzles. The year prior, they made it to the CIF-SS division semifinals as well however they were unable to take down Los Osos. The reason why the Wolverines were able to take down the Grizzles in 2023 but not 2022 is simple; the Grizzlies had lost all of their senior players and Aliso worked harder to fill in the gaps that their seniors had left.
When asked about what needed to be done to make sure the girls were ready for playoffs, Coach Pinter said, “Our doubles is what our team needs to focus on. Doubles take a lot more strategy and communication than singles ever will. Right now I’m focusing on who works best with each other and helping them build a strong layer of communication on and off the court.”
Aliso’s Girl’s Tennis team already is out for the repeat of CIF-SS Division I champions and has the greed and want to obtain league champions. All they need know is to work as hard and possible, and for us fans to come and cheer them on.
