For Graduating Tennis Standouts, a Season to Remember

This school year was a fantastic one for tennis. Although delayed, it was a great season for the seniors, who played extremely well this year, only losing twice. Reaching Sectionals, there were some fantastic players: Tea Graham, Erin Speaker, and Sabrina Sifuentez. All of them performed exceptionally well and represented Oak Forest High School even in the midst of the COVID pandemic.

I had a chance to interact with a couple of fantastic players, including senior Emmily Esquivel, who said that she started playing tennis because of her sister introducing her to the tennis coaches. She said that she fell in love with playing tennis. Esquivel also talked about how she loved practices, where she loves hitting tennis balls with her good friend and fellow senior, Erin Speaker.

I spoke to Speaker, who said that her favorite moment in tennis was beating Lemont this year with her doubles partner. She mentioned that joining tennis was just a way to stay fit during her freshman year, but now tennis is a major part of her life.

Senior Tea Graham said that playing against Lemont was one of the hardest matches because it took all her strength to win. She started playing tennis at a camp when she was little; that, along with her friends, motivated her to play.

I also talked to senior Lauryn Eifel, who said that her dad was the reason she started playing tennis. She loves every minute on the tennis court. Whether she experiences success or failure, it all matters to her.

This year, the tennis team made Oak Forest High School shine, setting a 12-0 record and performing exceptionally well at Conference and Sectionals. The players who I spoke to all said that they would love to play tennis in college.

We here at Vedas newspaper wish them the best of luck in the future. I want to include a special shout-out to the amazing seniors who performed so amazingly their final year of high school: Tea Graham, Emmily Esquivel, Erin Speaker, Lauryn Eifel, Athena Speck, Kailen Gonzalez, and Julianna Krilich.