The varsity girls tennis team won its match against Waukegan at home on Sept. 21, improving their record for this season to 6-2.

The match, which was part of North Suburban Conference play, was one of several matches remaining for the team leading up to the IHSA Sectional competition.

The Wildcats did not play their usual lineup, as Waukegan wasn’t able to bring a full team to the match, but the LHS athletes who did compete all won their matches by large margins. Sophomore Maggie Forkner won her singles match by a score of 6-0 while doubles partners Cristina Tuduri and Rania Bahrani also won their match with the same score.

In addition, seniors Mallory Carney and Morgan Spaulding won their doubles match, and doubles partners Jenna Zaengle (senior) and Michaela Orvis (junior) did as well. Freshman Hadley Warren also won her singles match.

Coach Dan Kiernan said that the vast majority of his team is just excited to be back out playing the game they love after months stuck at home in quarantine.

Due to the pandemic, the team has had to adapt to wearing masks when coming into contact with members of other teams before and after matches, as well as reducing contact between players by not sharing tennis balls.

Other new developments for the team this year include the renovation of the LHS tennis courts. Spaulding and Carney expressed that they started playing on the new courts at the end of August and have greatly enjoyed using them so far, a sentiment echoed by many other members of the team.

The team has three more matches this week, including away matches versus Lake Forest and Highland Park on Wednesday and Friday, respectively. These are some of Libertyville’s fiercest competitors, according to Coach Kiernan, and he said the results will have a large impact on the team’s standing in the North Suburban Conference.