Now that all 2024-2025 fall sports league games are over, only one team has made it to the playoffs. Head coach Lynn Barcellos’ girls varsity tennis team was the only fall team that secured a spot in playoffs. After being put into a new league, the girls tennis team seems to be the only fall sport that has come on top.
Making the playoffs is a special moment for the girls as not many people get to experience going to playoffs. Coach Barcellos has made the playoffs for the last thirty-one years in a row and this year is no different, even with the transition of a new league. This new league is the CCC and it has shown to be more competitive than last year’s league which is the WAC.
When asked about making playoffs while in a new league, Barcellos said, “The schools are bigger so they have more players that they can choose from for their teams. For example, some teams have 40-60 girls on their team.”
Even with that major difference in team size, these ladies have worked hard at practice and even harder when playing their matches. Helping Coach Barcellos are her two assistants, JT and Alexis Barcellos, who are also her children, and they have years of experience in tennis as they played for her as well.
As of right now, the team has two players going up to Sacramento for individual playoffs, or better known as sections. Number one Gaby Romo (10) and number four Tiffany Tovar (12) will be competing against the top players from DII and down all in order to win the DII individual title. The team is going up against Oakdale for their first round of playoffs and they are the fifth seed for the DIV team playoffs.
Tennis is not just a physical game, it is also a mental game as a player has to figure out who their opponent is and what their strengths and weaknesses are all the while keeping themselves in check and making sure that they keep calm. Barcellos’ tennis team has a bright future ahead of them as the team is still pretty young. There were only five seniors this year, but the team has an even better chance of winning the league next year as their biggest opponents are losing the majority of their best players.
