Freedom is one of those tennis teams that Whitehall is trying to emulate, and while last week’s match resulted in a loss, the gap is closing between the two schools.

After losing 7-0 to the Patriots last year, the Zephyrs tried to see if they could turn 2019’s encounter into a more favorable outcome. It wouldn’t be easy. A deeper look inside last year’s match reveals that the Pates won every match in straight sets.

This year, Whitehall won two of the three singles matches to put pressure on the kids from the Christmas City. No. 1 Natalia Pedraza had to fight back from a first set loss to take the next two, grinding out a tough win over Vaidehi Chinnawar 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.

At No. 3 singles, Nicole Asmar was embroiled in another tough match, but won in straight sets over Dymea Schippers 6-2, 6-3.

During that match, Asmar hit some nice drop shots for winners, and displayed a good all-around game to earn the victory.

Noel Yacoub gave Isabella Szimodis a tussle at No. 2 singles, but the Patriot survived with a 6-4, 7-5 win.

The Patriots displayed their depth in the doubles matches, winning all three competitions to take the match 4-2.

The Zephs certainly made the presence felt in those matches, staying competitive throughout the afternoon. It shows another step in their growth as a program.

“It was a difficult loss to stomach today, largely because our kids fought so hard to win,” said head coach Alex Green. “I don’t think I’ve ever been more proud of an effort or team in my three years here, even though we came up a bit short.”

Green said that they fortitude was on display throughout the afternoon, noting that Emily Tran was under the weather in their No. 2 doubles match against Olivia Taylor & Keri Saulino, but fought through that illness to nearly upend the Pate duo in the second set with partner Heylee Chan.

“It would have been easy to throw in the towel but they kept fighting and nearly came back in the second set,” Green said.

Pedraza was another player who had to overcome some adversity. She lost the first set 3-6, but worked her way to evening the match with a 6-4 in the second set. She closed out Chinnawar in the third with a 6-4 score.

“Natalia was extremely mentally tough today after dropping the first set,” said Green. “She worked incredibly hard to win in three sets as she showed that she’s one of the top players in the district.”

Green said that the entire team just put it all on the line, but just came up short against a talented Freedom team. He said it’s something they can build upon.

“This is the kind of match that will make us better as a team,” said Green. “We’re not hanging our heads, we still have a lot of big matches ahead of us.”