Piedmont High School’s girls tennis team lost five seniors from its ladder but has nine returning players. It also has a pretty good freshman coming in.
“That’s a lot to lose,” coach Jim Landes said of last year’s seniors.
Sophomore Ella Ruthven is back and will start the season at No. 1 singles.
“She’s not an overly aggressive player,” Landes said. “She’s a good backcourt player, steady, very consistent but usually doesn’t overpower her opponents. She has good variety, she has topspin, she can slice. She’s pretty good up at the net even though she rarely goes there. Primarily a defensive player.”
Senior Faith Chin is No. 2.
“Faith is pretty similar but tends to be a little more aggressive,” Landes said. “Occasionally will try to power the ball on her forehand and her backhand but is not as consistent. Their games are fairly similar.”
That’s where things could get interesting. Freshman Madeline Huynh, sister of departed senior Sam Huynh, is currently at No. 3.
“Shes very good,” Landes said. “She may move up. She has maybe the best strokes on the team.”
Junior Leela Sivakumar is No. 4.
“Leela is a little bit of a combination,” Landes said. “She can hit powerful ground strokes but she plays very consistently. She likes to hit through the ball with a little more pace.”
Senior Emma Chan and junior Chiara Silvio are the No. 1 doubles team. Chan will possibly play some singles during the season as well.
“They’re aggressive players,” Landes said. “Both of them are good up at the net. They hit hard groundstrokes. Chiara can serve pretty hard. They put balls away at the net.”
Juniors Paige Chin and Ella Thomasson start the season as the No. 2 team.
“They are returning players from last year too,” Landes said. “Paige has improved quite a bit. She’s more consistent. She’s left-handed. That comes out in her serve. A lot of girls have trouble with her spin. She and Ella have a lot of reach and are both good at the net.”
Several players are in line for the third doubles team. Junior Layla Reed-Miguel has been playing with sophomore Ellia Shafari, while senior Amelia Oldrin and junior Amalia Angulo along with sophomores Penelope Welch and Mai Pham could be in line for the slot.
Landes said he thinks the singles group has gotten better that last year. The doubles remains to be seen.
The coach said Bishop O’Dowd and Alameda will be strong in the West Alameda County Conference this season. He said the Highlanders are in the middle.
“If we finish one or two in the league, I’ll be very happy,” he said. “(North Coast Section), if we get into the lower division, Division 2, I think we have a good shot to do very well.”
Piedmont opened play on Aug. 26 with a 7-0 win over visiting Acalanes. Ruthven defeated Elisabetta Sokolova at No. 1 singles, 6-1, 5-7, 11-9. Chin beat Audrey Tseng at No. 2, 7-5, 6-4. Huynh downed Jasmine Taylor at No. 3, 6-2, 6-4. Sivakumar outlasted Alessa Smith at No. 4, 6-2, 6-7 (0), 10-5.
In doubles, Chan and Silvio beat Louie Kubas and Sadie Moise at No. 1, 6-2, 6-1. Chin and Thomasson defeated Delphine Fisher and Madalena Obertello at No. 2, 7-5, 6-2. Angulo and Oldrin edged Gemma Satterfield and Carissa Penn at No. 3, 7-5, 7-6 (7).
On Aug. 27, the Highlanders beat host Marin Catholic, 4-3. Ruthven downed Christiane Zuber at No. 1 singles, 6-2, 6-1. Huynh defeated Ruby Pisaturo at No. 3, 6-1, 6-2. Sivakumar beat Charlie Fagersten at No. 4, 6-4, 6-2. The Wildcats’ Ariana Bazan got past Chin at No. 2, 6-3, 6-4.
In doubles, Piedmont’s Sharafi and Pham defeated Savanna Ferrari and Paige Higby at No. 3, 6-4, 7-5. Marin Catholic’s Natalie Martin and Liney Hachman outlasted Chan and Silvio at No. 1, 4-6, 6-3, 11-9. The Wildcats’ Riley Gilman and Rylie Webb beat Chin and Thomasson at No. 2, 6-2, 6-2.
The Highlanders are next scheduled to host Albany on Sept. 9.