‘Heart and hustle’ carry Tides girl’s tennis team to winning season in a topsy-turvy year

If there is one phrase that can describe the 2021 Gig Harbor High School girls tennis team, its ‘Heart and Hustle’.

For a group of 36 players that were constantly moved between varsity and junior varsity, competing against new opponents in the 4A South Puget Sound League and facing a shortened season, it shaped up to be quite a different year for the Tides.

However, they were not shaken by any of those circumstances. In fact, the Tides took their opportunities this season and went 10-0 in league play, the first time coach Lorrie Wood has done so with a girls team at Gig Harbor.

“I’m really proud of them. Everybody has had ups and downs with the quarantine,” she said. “Still, our team came together and fought hard all season. We didn’t win many matches 5-0, we won a couple 4-1. Most of the matched would split 2-2 and come down to the third set. They would battle to the very last point. I was very impressed with how hard they fought and how much they supported each other.”

Double Alexas

One of the biggest reasons the Tides had a perfect year was in part to the number one doubles team made up of sophomore Alexa Lavender and junior Alexa Thoms.

Together, Lavender and Thoms only lost three matches all season including twice against the No. 1 doubles team from Bellarmine.

They weren’t a team that overpowered the opposing players, but rather two teammates that played in sync with each other. In fact, other coaches noticed how smart they were playing and mentioned it to Wood.

“They did such a good job at number one. Other coaches would come back and say, ‘Your players are smart,’” she said. “They are actually soccer players, they’ve played soccer together since they were young and now they play doubles tennis together. They know how to face pressure, problem-solve and they know how to do it together.”

Last season, Lavender and Thoms were very new to the sport of tennis. So much so that it was their first time really playing for the school. But because of the initial quarantine, that forced their tennis careers back a year.

However, they put in the off season work to hone their craft and earned their spot as the number one doubles team. The combination of Lavender and Thoms were so successful for the Tides that they placed third in the SPSL league tournament.

A singles upset

Another standout player for the Tides was junior singles player, Hailey Austin. Although Austin could only join the Tides for half of the season, she still left enough of an impact to compete in the league tournament as well.

“She had to come in halfway through the season and she did really well. She was the eighth seed in the league tournament which is pretty good,” Wood said. “She had the first seed her first round so she lost in the first round and she ended up losing in the second round because she got injured. She had a good season, though.”

One of the highlights in Austin’s already short season came from the final match of the season at home against the Lions. In two sets, Austin upset Rebecca Chow, the number-one singles player Bellarmine had to offer

Upset wins like that and perfecting their craft like Lavender and Thoms did just go to show that the Tides were all in on this unusual season. It’s reflected in not only their perfect league record, but also in opposing players changing their game to compete against what coach Wood and her team put onto the court.

“I haven’t had this many wins with the girls before. They’ve always been good, hard workers and fighters, but its amazing because we moved up to 4A,” Wood said. “It was a little different out there. I think that some players ended up not playing that may have played in normal circumstances, but that happened for our team too.”

This story was originally published May 12, 2021 at 5:30 AM.