The Trojans demolished the Arroyo Dons 5-2 in the first annual girls varsity tennis homecoming match on Sept. 10, 2026. 

Sophia Lopez, sophomore; Janani Rajalingam, junior; Alisha Wong, freshman; and Ava Zakai, junior all successfully secured victories in singles play. 

“I think it was really good, serves was pretty good, and we definitely set a friendly environment for each other so that any internal tensions we had were toned down,” Zakai said.

Anabelle Ngyuen and Caelin Manaysay, known as the “Fabulous Freshman Duo”, banteringly on the team, also achieved a swift victory in doubles play. 

Franciele Da Costa and Cordelia Chow faced a tougher match, the two played for nearly two hours in the sweltering heat, but ultimately lost with a resounding score of 4-6. Despite her loss, Da Costa stayed optimistic, deciding to evaluate her loss from a constructive standpoint. 

“This game helped me to learn how to strategize and think on my feet in the moment. I also learned to tough out the high 90 degree weather,” Da Costa explained. 

However, behind the Trojans’ victory stands countless hours of hard work, dedication, and consistency. They had been preparing industriously for this game, practicing a total of four times per week after school from Monday to Thursday. Additionally, the team reserves two of those days for competitive matches against other schools.  

“We have a young team this year, so they need to work hard. They all have a good foundation, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need to work hard to win more matches,” coach Bill McIntrye explained. 

Although this first game marked a nonleague match it still gave the team valuable practice before their first ranked match on Thursday, Sept. 17, against the Mount Eden Monarchs. 

The team now holds a 1-2 record, but the players refuse to let that dampen their spirits.

“Tennis is so much fun, the team spirit is amazing! This is the thing we all look forward to after school the most: spirit, friends, and food,” Kaylee Cheng said. 

“Everyone’s going to have fun this year whether we win or lose!” McIntrye said.