The women’s tennis team will compete in the NWAC championships for a shot at taking home the first place trophy this weekend.
The tennis championships will be May 14-15 at the Wenatchee Racquet & Athletic Club.
The Lady T-Birds spent this week and last week practicing at their home court. No matches were held.
Although the regular season concluded early due to a Treasure Valley cancellation, Highline continues to soar. For the third time straight, the league has recognized a Highline player for their success.
Last Thursday, freshman Celeste Parker was named NWAC player of the week for women’s tennis. Parker is undefeated in conference play at the No. 2 singles position. In recent competition, she tallied the sole win for Highline in singles competition against four-year NAIA school Lewis and Clark State 6-4 6-4, and then notched a victory against Treasure Valley the following day.
This Thunderbird squad has a perfect 5-0 conference record. That should continue, said sophomore Andrea Guiton.
“My expectations for the championship tournament is that Highline comes out very strong.
We are a strong and determined team so we want to continue what we have been doing so far and improve even more and finish it off with a win,” said Guiton.
Highline is a dominating force this year, but it’s important to note that NWAC tennis is having a down year. With only four teams competing, the Highline coaching staff were active in scheduling matches with four-year programs throughout the season. Seven out of the 12 season matches played by Highline were against four-year programs.
“I think with Covid happening, there have been a ton of things all out of whack. Our motto this season was to prepare for anything, and keep moving forward no matter what,” said Andrea Guiton.
“We as a team have not taken anything for granted and we always go into each match the exact same no matter what and that is to play our game and play to the best of our ability,” Guiton said.
Highline tennis has yet to win a championship since the program’s reinstatement in 2016-17. Winning the NWAC title would make program history for T-Bird tennis.
“Obviously my team and I would love to win that championship, but as long as we work hard and put our best effort into this championship tournament, that’s all I can expect from my teammates,” said Guiton.