Freshman, Sophia Liu hears her name called during tennis tryouts and takes a deep breath. Ridden with nerves, she opens the gate to the tennis courts and steps out for her match. The sun beats down, causing sweat to brim on her forehead as she smiles at her opponent. She plays an intense match and after winning, excitedly tells the coach her score. Then she hears the news that she made it onto the varsity tennis team, and she would be the only freshman.

Sophia Liu has been playing tennis for over four years and that commitment and love for the sport has changed her life and allowed her to befriend girls that she would typically not. Many people don’t make a varsity sport team their first year in high school, but Liu’s dedication to practicing and showing her skills opened the varsity door for her. When Coach Junker told Liu that she would be on the varsity team as the only freshman, Liu experienced a feeling many freshman will not.

“It was really cool because I would be playing tennis with these girls and it felt really awesome because they seemed like really nice people,” said Liu.

Liu felt right at home on the varsity team with Coach Junker, the girls, and her parents support. The upperclassmen and other older girls on the team never made Liu feel uncomfortable or out of place, but instead made the team feel like a second home.

“I think seven out of the ten players were new, so we were all new to the scene. I was never really excluded or anything,” said Liu.

Amongst the ‘homey feeling’ of the team, Liu still had freshman duties that she had to carry out alone. Being the only freshman on varsity had many pros, but had a few cons. Liu was assigned special tasks designed for freshman before and after every practice and match, but it never discouraged Liu from feeling at home on the team.

“Coach Junker, every time we finished a match, would have me get the scorecard balls and balls that people didn’t pick up,” said Liu.

Liu looked up to every girl on the team as if they were big sisters, but out of everyone she looked up to the team captains, juniors Schuyler Wolf and Shelei Pan, the most. As captains, Wolf and Pan led the team and took Liu under their wing and saw her as adding to the team’s game.

“Sophia was a big asset this year. She’s a freshman, so it’s her first year on the team, but she played number five singles and won a fair amount of her matches,” said Wolf.

Everyone on the team created many memories together and many with Liu. Liu expressed herself on and off the courts, creating lasting bonds with the older girls. The girls talk to Liu as if they are all the same age, and most of the time, forget the gap.

“She felt comfortable pretty quickly, comfortable enough to decide to practice her flute in my car one day,” said Pan.

With these lasting memories and laughs with the Ladue varsity tennis team, Liu is grateful that she had the experiences with this set of girls. The team bonding and friendly support on the team encouraged Liu throughout the season to push through and work hard. The girls taught Liu important life skills about determination, courage, and never giving up, allowing Liu to reminisce about her best days on the court and with the varsity team.

“My favorite part of the season was probably towards the end and we played districts and it was really fun to get the plaque and all. It was really nice to see all the girls giving it their all,” said Liu.