Both Jefferson’s girls and boys tennis teams won their respective region 5C championships on Tuesday, May 21.

The two competitions were set up the same way, with equal six singles and three doubles matches. The team to win five matches first was the winner, regardless of what type of matches those five were. The top six players each played one singles match and one doubles match with a partner.

“I’m the only freshman in the top six, so I was the only one playing in the matches,” freshman Isabel Gan said. “It just felt really great to have everyone there supporting me.”

Coincidentally, both Jefferson teams had the same win-loss record at the championship. First, out of the six singles matches, they both had won the last four. They only needed to win only one more match in order to win the entire regional competition.

“The whole team was watching,” sophomore Lucy Alejandro said. “We were so close, we just had to win one more match. Everyone was on the edge of their seats.”

Then, the girls’ and boys’ teams both got their fifth win during their third doubles match, making them the new region 5C champions.

“In the next couple of months we’re going to states, so we’re going to try to win at state championships,” Alejandro said. “We were so close last year.”

Last year, Jefferson’s tennis teams almost won regional championships as well, but they were defeated closely by Broad Run. This year, they defeated Broad Run in an equally close race.

“When it happened, we all rushed to the court, Alejandro said. “We were hugging each other, we were just so happy, and it was a great way to continue our season.”

Unlike Jefferson’s girls’ tennis team, the boys’ tennis team defended their championship title from last year, when they defeated Rock Ridge High School. After this continued success, junior Ted Zhou, a top six player on the boys’ tennis team, wants his team to win again next year.

“For the team, this just means that our strength runs deep and we’re very confident in our lower seeds to pull through,” Zhou said.

As the girls team approaches states, they are already looking into the future. Next year, they will lose seniors Joyce Liu, Siona Prasad and Nira Nair from the top six. Because of this, the remaining team members are hoping to fill the shoes these seniors will leave behind.

“I’ll feel like I’ll have more experience and know how things work better,” Gan said. “I’ll try to help the other freshmen not be so scared because it’s a lot of pressure when you play for your team.”