Girls varsity tennis battled fiercely against the Marlborough Mustangs in a tough match, with comeback victories leading them to take the crown. Although it was non-league, the pressure was on as the teams were neck to neck on Tuesday, September 9, 2025, at the Titan tennis courts. Team spirit and strategic play were the Titan’s anthem as they competed to claim their second win of the season.
Despite the outcome, the team launched with a rocky start. However, as close losses became triumphs, they rallied to catch up. Number 1 singles Katie-Lynn Hoang defeated all three of her opponents with scores of 7-5, 6-2, and 6-0. Though beginning behind the Mustangs’ number 1 singles player, Hoang persevered to secure a sweep of her opponents. Number 3 singles Kate Chung won her match 6-1 and gathered a total of 14 games for SMHS. Number 1 doubles team Angela Wang and Audrey Ranabargar won two of their matches 6-0 and 6-3. Number 3 doubles Olivia Hsu and Kaitlyn Ho bested their three opponents 6-0, 6-1, and 7-5, the last being a tremendous comeback from a score of 2-5 to defeating Marlborough’s number 1 doubles team. Team communication well played net points, and calculated positioning were the key to these critical matches. “I was really scared, because when I heard we were slightly behind, I knew we had to win our last match to tie it. The cheering was so loud, I think that’s why we won five games in a row!” Kaitlyn Ho, 9, said.
The entirety of the match, which spanned from 3:45 PM to 8:15 PM, resulted in 18 evenly split sets: 9 wins for San Marino and 9 wins for Marlborough. After extremely resilient match-play, a tally of the games won by each team determined San Marino as the champion, ahead by 10 games.
Girls tennis at San Marino has a reputation of success. A dominating force in the area, the team is undefeated in the Rio Hondo League and has advanced to CIF play several times. Coached by Melwin Pereira, they look to hold their streak and legacy. Although Marlborough proved to be a difficult rival, the Varsity girls held their game, a promising event for the season to come.
