The varsity girls’ tennis team defeated the Balboa Buccaneers 7-0 on Oct. 10 at Lowell. This win ties the Cardinals with Washington for first in the Academic Athletic Association San Francisco Section.

In the singles division, Lowell dominated with junior Emily Chen going 6-0, 6-0, and fellow juniors Kiara Chan and Kim Chang winning 6-2, 6-0, and 6-0, 6-4, respectively. Sophomore Kim Toy also emerged victorious, winning 6-0 and 6-1.

Meanwhile in the doubles division, senior Madeline Aubry and sophomore Jasmine Chin won their match 6-0, 6-0. So did junior Anna Kaplan and sophomore Taylor Chin. Junior duo Kaitlin Canotal and Christine Shen also defeated the Bucs’ duo, going 6-0, 6-1.

Wednesday marked the first time Canotal and Shen played doubles together, and they put a strong emphasis on teamwork and consistency. The match began smoothly with Shen acing multiple serves. But the duo hit a brief rough patch at the beginning of their second set. After Coach Darryl’s advice during a break,the girls returned to the match galvanised. “[The Balboa players’] shots had a lot less pace than we’re used to,” Canotal said. “So we had to learn how to use that to our advantage and be more aggressive.”

According to senior co-captain Julianna Eng, the team was overall “pretty solid, hit some great shots, and really stayed focused and consistent.” With All-City and their crucial tie-breaker game against Washington fast approaching, she plans for the team to hone their strategizing.

The Cardinals will face off against the Washington Eagles on Wednesday, Oct. 17 at 3:30 p.m. at Lowell.