The Riverside Women’s tennis team has had their most exceptional season since 2015, finishing the season with a 10-6 overall record, 5-5 in Conference.
This year, senior Calista Robinson and her sister, freshman Zoe Robinson, qualified for Regionals as a doubles entry. Calista and Zoe are ranked first and second on the team, respectively. This past week the Pirates’ Hook sat down with Captain Calista Robinson to talk about her time on the team.
The Pirates’ Hook (PH): When did you start playing tennis?
Calista Robinson (CR): “I started playing tennis in sixth grade. I wanted a middle school sport and my dad played in high school so we had racquets around.”
PH: What drew you to playing on the Riverside Tennis team?
CR: “I wanted a high school sport. I knew some of the girls on the team who were a year older than me and I liked playing.”
PH: Did you find it really challenging to balance school and tennis?
CR: “Yes, especially sophomore year it was crazy because I had AP U.S. History, Honors Math 3, AP US Government, and Principles of Engineering but I think I learned to balance over time.”
PH: What has kept you motivated to continue to do both?
CR: “Well I can’t really drop out of school at least sophomore year, so I didn’t really have any other option.”
PH: What are your favorite parts of the RHS team?
CR: “The bus rides. Our coach can’t really drive the bus… he crashes a lot. I also really like the people and the sunsets on the drives. It’s quite the ride.”
PH: How do you think your seasons here have gone?
CR: “Last year was really bad, but this year has been a lot better.”
PH: You qualified for regionals this year, what do you credit to this being your most successful year?
CR: “I qualified with doubles and in previous years I had a different doubles partner. This year my doubles partner was my sister and I think we work really well together.”
PH: What will you miss the most about the Riverside Tennis team?
CR: “I’m not going to lie, this year’s season was long so I was kind of ready for the season to be over, I am going to miss my teammates.”
PH: Do you think you will continue playing tennis in the future?
CR: “I hope to play club or intramural tennis in college.”
At regionals on Oct. 21, the Robinson sisters got the fifth seed and won their first round match against Pinecrest 6-2. Their next match was against third-seeded Panther Creek. Unfortunately the Robinson sisters lost the first set 6-2, won the second set in a tie-breaker, 7-6, but ultimately fell 6-4 in the final set.
