As March turned to April and preseason came to a close, the Carmel Lady Greyhound Varsity Tennis team picked up their first win of the season, with new head coach Kiersten Carlson starting off her coaching career on the right path with a 4-1 win over Westfield on March 31st.
Many questions surrounded the Greyhounds in preseason, especially with Carlson taking the helm as a first year head coach of the Hounds following two disappointing postseason exits in the last two seasons. However, the Hounds took care of business with ease on Tuesday night, instilling great confidence in the future of the program under Carlson.
Carmel saw a mix of experienced seniors and youthful underclassmen against Westfield, but both groups were able to get it done under the lights. On the senior side of the court, Carmel fielded four: Sisters Olivia and Alexia Widjaja lined up to play one and two singles and Madison Littell and Gabby Hall took point for one doubles. The other three Carmel players were all sophomores, with Annie Mann playing three singles, and Daksha Sivvala and Shravya Pillutla teaming up to play two doubles.
Both the seniors and the sophomores found success on Tuesday, as Carmel cruised a 4-1 win on the backs of all three sophomores winning their matches. Mann beat Westfield’s Rayna Roy in two 6-1 sets, and Sivvala and Pillutla won their match over Kendall Omer and Emerson Dierkes.
The seniors saw similar success, with Littell and Hall winning their one doubles match against Westfield’s Jenna Berry and Bella Rivera in two hard fought sets, and Alexia Widjaja beating Sloane Seyforth 7-5, 6-1. The lone loss on the night for the greyhounds was that of Olivia Widjaja, who, coming off of an injury that caused her to miss all of last season, lost to Westfield’s Isla Harvey 6-4, 6-2 in the one singles match.
Carmel will be riding the high of a 1-0 start to the season through Spring Break, until they face off against Delta at home on Tuesday, April 14th.
Prior to the game, I had the opportunity to talk to head coach Kiersten Carlson about her goals for the year and how her plans for a new coaching style are influenced by her previous experience as a player for the Lady Hounds from 2015 to 2018. You can listen to the full interview below.
