The women’s tennis team leveraged its bye week to prepare for the NWAC championships, which are a little under two weeks away.
No matches were scheduled for NWAC tennis last week and none will be held this week, which gives the Lady T-Birds time to sharpen their skills.
Highline won’t get another chance to bury Treasure, however. Highline was scheduled to host Treasure Valley this weekend, but they canceled Wednesday morning.
The abrupt cancellation will close out the Thunderbirds’ regular season with a perfect 5-0 record.
Now the team looks ahead to the NWAC tennis championships on May 14-15 in Wenatchee.
“We all know this is not the point in the season where we will learn new skills, but rather a time to build consistency and confidence in the way we do things. Sticking to our game plan all year has worked for us and we won’t make the mistake of throwing that out the window in the eleventh hour,” said Highline Head Coach Laura Rosa.
The team has maintained a spotless NWAC record by keeping their priorities straight both on and off the tennis court, she said.
“Our goals have been the same since week one.First is grades. No exception.
“Second is to make sure our players honor their sport and their team.
“And then third comes winning. What we are proving is that by taking care of the first two priorities, the wins will come,” said Coach Rosa.
After going undefeated against NWAC opponents, the team could face the temptation to be overconfident. However, Highline remains grounded in who they are and how they play, one match at a time, Coach Rosa said.
“We take each match as a unique experience and try not to have expectations based on past results. Our expectations come from staying true to who we are academically, athletically and as good humans,” she said.
In NWAC women’s tennis history, Highline has been runner up to Bellevue in 2017, 2018, and 2019. No championships were held in the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 seasons due to the pandemic.
Coach Rosa and her staff brought women’s tennis back to Highline in 2016 after a 25-year absence of the sport. This is the first season in Highline women’s tennis that a team has gone undefeated in conference.
Through the disappointments of defaulted wins and canceled matches, Highline continued to excel in the matches they could play.
This Thunderbird squad has formed a chemistry that couldn’t be recreated if she tried for a year straight, said Coach Rosa.
“The best part of this team is that they are the definition of a team. A match needs six players; we have exactly six,” Rosa said. “On any given day five will show up and compete outside their abilities for one who maybe needs a little lift that day. The magic is because of the perfect six not because of one superstar.”