Greenhills Girls Tennis Clinches the Regional Title, Now Looking Ahead to State Tournament

By Pranay Shah, for The Alcove student newspaper.

Greenhills girls varsity tennis team brought home the Regional Championship title on May 19. Eight teams met at their home courts early Thursday morning to compete in the tournament that determines if a team’s season will continue. If a team wins enough points, it is eligible to play in the culminating tournament of the season: the State Championship. Greenhills earned 22 points—14 more than the four teams that tied for second place—and will advance to the finals, taking place on June 3 and 4.

The tournament began as the courts were drying up from the rain the previous night, and some members of the Greenhills community slowly filtered onto the courts to watch their classmates, students, and friends. The school’s support did not go unnoticed.

“[The crowd was] perfect, terrific, phenomenal, unbelievable, brilliant, you know, superlatives for the Greenhills community,” said Head Coach Mark Randolph. “But not only did people come out, but they also supported the team the right way. I could not be more proud to be a part of the Greenhills community.”

The team swiftly advanced through the tournament, with seven of eight flights ending up in the finals. The only flight that was given up, was the 3-singles spot, where Sophie Chen ’25 had to unfortunately withdraw after an injury earlier in the week. Despite the injury, Chen managed to win her first round match. Her point contributed to her team’s victory, but as her teammates and coaches described, her energy was game-changing, and her support and attitude unmatched.

The team’s dynamic is an interesting one. With six freshmen, the team has experienced a new surge of energy this past season. With young players at the top three singles spots, and at 2-, 3-, and 4-doubles, the freshmen have taken on a critical task for the team. In addition, experience and leadership comes from the other six players, who are all returning varsity players. Together, the team has depth and talent at every level.

“The freshmen have honestly been so integral in our success this year,” said captain and 1-doubles player Georgie Branch ’22, “I know that we’re helping to build their confidence and it’s helping us set a precedent for how to behave and how to work hard on the team for the future. It feels good to be able to pass down that legacy during my last year.”

The day concluded with the trophy ceremony, where the team was awarded with the Regional Championship trophy. They have two weeks to prepare for the State tournament, and with the Regional tournament behind them, they are starting to lock in, and prepare for the final tournament of the season. Because of weather, sickness, and other obstacles, the team had to reschedule many matches and cancel practices. As a result, they were playing matches almost every day leading up to the Regional tournament. They are now looking forward to having the next two weeks to practice and prepare.

The MHSAA State Championship, to be held in Ann Arbor for the first time, will be at the University of Michigan Varsity Tennis Center on June 3 and 4. The team looks forward to having it close to home, so their family, friends, and teachers can come out and support throughout the tournament: a rare blessing because the tournament is usually held at another location—sometimes three or four hours away.

“As exciting as it is to have the State tournament held 10 minutes away, I couldn’t care less where we played,” said captain and 1-doubles player Rukmini Nallamothu ’22, “I just love hanging out with the team and watching them play, wherever that would be. It has been a real treat to see all of the players grow into themselves over the past few months. Having States at home just means everyone else can come see that for themselves.”