Co-team captain Elizabeth Dang (11) and Brielle Austin (10) tapped their rackets together in confidence after scoring another point against Carlsbad during their doubles match, Sept. 9, where Westview won, 13-5. The duo alternated between forecourt and backcourt, dominating their opponents. Dang and Austin demonstrated their partnership as they coordinated each shot.
Despite only playing together as doubles partners once before the match, Dang and Austin swept their sets, 6-1, 6-0, and 6-1.
Reflecting on her performance, Dang said she could have played stronger, but with Austin as her partner, she was able to retain a confident mindset.
“Individually, I think I could have done better,” Dang said. “I wasn’t at my best, but as partners [with Austin], I think we did well, especially with our teamwork, setting each other up between points, and then also strategizing about our matches.”
Austin said that she and Dang reposition themselves between each hit to combat their opponents’ defense.
“[Dang] has a really good serve, so she tells me where she’s going to hit [the ball] so that I can be ready at the net and attack,” Austin said. “I poach at the net to put the point away, otherwise, the point can go on for a long time if [we] just hit back and forth.”
Though Dang and Austin were able to take all three of their sets, they faced frustration during one of their games, but were quickly able to adjust their mindsets and bounce back.
“There was one game where we were both kind of frustrated,” Austin said. “They kept getting points on us, and we just kept hitting them out, and so we gave them a game. But after that, we were able to reset and win the set. We talked about being more consistent and moving on mentally, so it wouldn’t stick in our heads.”
Dang said that the team was still in the process of adjusting to the start of the season as new doubles pair-ups were made, new players were added, and everyone attuned to the competitive routine. Despite this, she was very proud of how everyone had put their all into their matches.
“I’d say I’m really proud that the team had a strong start to the season,” Dang said. “I knew everyone was nervous for their first matches, but they still pushed through and put 100% [of] their effort into their matches and team spirit.”
Dang said the team’s supportive but competitive environment had spurred within her a new passion for the sport she has already played for 10 years.
“[Being on the team] has had a really big impact on me because [before] my freshman year, I never really liked tennis,” Dang said. “But when I got on the team, it made me really competitive and I started focusing more, putting a lot of time into tennis and the team. Instead of feeling really pressured when I play, I feel like we all support each other and [that lifts] a lot of weight off my shoulders.”
Dang said she hopes she can co-lead the team to win CIFs this year.
“As a team, I really want to win Division I CIFs,” Dang said. “I feel like that would be a really big accomplishment [because] I don’t think our team has won CIFs since a few years ago. Then individually, I would like to get far into CIF individuals by myself.”
