First singles player Lauren Roszak struck a powerful forehand miles out of her opponents reach to seal her second set 6-2 on top of an assertive 6-0 win in the first set leaving her victorious in her match and leading the team to a 3-2 win overall.
On Sept. 15, girls tennis took on the Governor Livingston Highlanders in a fairly evenly matched faceoff, with the Blue Devils coming into the match 4-3 and the Highlanders standing at 4-4 on the season.
Both teams had taken similar losses thus far in the season to Kent Place and both have come out strong against teams like Scotch Plains-Fanwood and Summit.
However, the Blue Devils came into this game with a sense of confidence after beating GL twice last year 3-2 and 4-1.
First doubles player Sadie Pitigala said, “We prepared for today by doing a lot of doubles strategies and we worked on stuff that we had noticed had gone wrong in other matches which flowed really well in today’s game.”
Pitigala and her partner, and sister, Hailey Pitigala won their match in two sets 6-2 and 6-1, holding their opponents to very few points. In addition, third singles player Emma Legaspi dominated both her sets 6-3 and 6-1 to fuel the Blue Devil victory.
“I was impressed most today with how everyone walked in very confident, and after coach Goldman gave us a really good speech I think everyone really took that to heart and put that into their playing and just had a really great performance overall,” said Hailey Pitigala.
After losing to Kent Place yesterday and Oak Knoll twice this season, the girls’ win today set the tone for the rest of their season and stimulated their confidence heading into their county tournament.
Head coach Harris Goldman said, “This win gives us momentum and there are a lot of mental aspects of tennis so when we play well like we are now it gives us confidence and when we walk on the court we feel like we are going to win. It makes us believe in ourselves.”
Tension was noticeable in a few of the matches the girls participated in as high school tennis is a self-officiated sport. While the Blue Devils maintained composure, a couple Highlanders argued them on some of their points.
With this Roszak said, “The mental side of tennis is so important when we’re playing matches and can really make or break whether you win or lose. We’ve really worked on that after playing some tough teams when sometimes it’s hard to keep a steady head. I’m proud of the way I handled my mental emotions and I think everyone else on the team was very composed and that makes us a very respectful group of people to play with.”
Overall, this win showed the strength that this Westfield team has to compete with some of Union County’s best venturing into the rest of the season. Through maintaining poise and using the strategies that work best for them to win, the Blue Devils future is bright.
Goldman said, “When we step on the court there’s a really high level of composure that we compete hard but support each other as well. It’s a close team. There is some really high quality tennis being played on every court so everyone is really proud of the team this year.”
The girls will continue their season this Saturday as they host the Blue Devil Invitational at the Westfield Tennis Club.
