As the season comes to a close, the Rio Hondo Women’s Tennis Team fell short against rivals Cerritos College on April 1, but nevertheless continues to improve.

In their four home stand appearance, the team played San Diego Mesa, College of the Desert, Victor Valley, and finally Cerritos. Head Coach Karen Unger praises her team’s determination and improvement, but unfortunately they continue to come up short against the more experienced colleges. The loss to Cerritos set them back but Coach Unger and her team remained focused.

When the team went up against the experienced and talented College of the desert on March 25, Coach Unger, was extremely impressed with Stephanie Rodriguez’s performance.

Rodriguez’s was able to hold her own against the number one ranked player from College of the Desert. Her sheer strength and technique make her such a complete player.

It was a near perfect climate on that Tuesday afternoon but strong winds caused quite a distraction throughout the entire match. Unger was not pleased with the weather conditions because of the disturbance it caused to her players.

Despite the dilemma, Unger, constantly reminded the players to keep calm and stay focused. It worked for player Kim Xie, as she dominated her opponents in both her singles and doubles matches.

Xie, had probably one of her best matches of the season, as she showed outstanding composure and poise. It was quite a sight to behold as she never let her opponent gain any control of the match. She ended up winning both sets convincingly with scores of 6-0 and 6-4.

Her doubles match was an even better display of skills which even left her partner, Sarah Medina, impressed.

Medina, praised Xie’s sense of urgency and leadership as she noticed their play kept the Cerritos player guessing. Xie, admits that she was tired from pushing herself but it did not stop her from defeating her opponents which made Unger speak well of her valiant effort.

The team was in a cheerful mood as they celebrated Rodriguez’s birthday after the match.

The lady Roadrunners kept their heads up high despite losing to Cerritos 8-1. Unger, couldn’t be happier as she is very proud that her team continued to improve with each match.

Ultimately, Unger, is very content with the overall performance her team displayed all season long. She hopes her players continue to work on their game and continue to strive for success.

Rio Hondo finished with a 3-8 in the conference and a 4-10 record overall.