Girls’ tennis head coach Ken Clow thinks his team’s performance against BV West indicates they’ve improved from last season.

“I think so far our season is going pretty good,” Clow said. “I think BV West beat us last year and we tied them 6-6 this year. Michaela Crow, a girl who plays number two for me this year and is a freshman, won.”

Senior co-captain Tamerra Horton attributes part of her team’s success to the good team chemistry.

“Our strength is probably how close we are as a team,” Horton said. “Usually varsity is very close-knit and doesn’t really get to know the rest of the team, but I think we have bonded a lot over the past couple of weeks and we are a lot closer than other teams.”

While usually Clow has his team scrimmaging during practices, his focus during practice will depend on his team’s most recent performance.

“Most of the time we are just playing,” Clow said. “We try to work on the things we had trouble with in different drills.”

Horton focuses every practice on refining the tactics for her game.

“Tactics are really important in tennis,” Horton said. “You can have the perfect backhand and the perfect forehand, but if you don’t know what to do with it you won’t get anywhere. That’s why they call tennis a physical chess match. It’s important to practice what kind of plays you want to make and how to set yourself up to make sure you get those plays.”

As tennis is for the most part an individual sport (except in doubles), Clow emphasizes the importance of offseason training.

“The top three — their offseason work really shows up,” Clow said. “It makes a huge difference. Tamerra Horton as number one, Lillian Oliver number two, Michaela Crowe as number three.”

Horton plans to continue her tennis career in college, as she has offers from a few different colleges including University of Nebraska Omaha and William Jewell College. As her final season playing for Northwest begins, Horton looks to make the most of her high school tennis experience.

“I’m just looking to have fun,” Horton said. “I’ve worked really hard my last three years and have gotten the school that I want to go to, so I guess I can just spend this season having fun and taking it all in one last time before I have to leave.”