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It's hard to imagine any high school girls tennis team better than the 2003 Monta Vista squad, which won the Northern California team championship after capturing the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division and Central Coast Section titles.
After all, the 2003 team, which compiled a 25-0 record, had the top two singles players in the CCS. Allie Lipton defeated teammate Jennifer Lu for the individual singles crown.
But just a few weeks into the season, it is apparent that there is a squad stronger than Monta Vista of 2003—Monta Vista of 2004!
For one thing, Lipton and Lu were just juniors a year ago, so they're back as seniors. Carmen Seremeta, who sat out last season with a shoulder injury, is another skillful senior. Seremeta, who is currently ranked as Northern California's top under-18 girls player by the U.S. Tennis Association, teamed with Lipton in 2002 to take the CCS doubles championship.
With Lipton, Lu and Seremeta, new Monta Vista coach Gene Fortino has the pleasant problem of figuring out who to put at No. 1 singles each match. Fortino replaced Terry Cress, who retired after 35 years as the Monta Vista coach. The new coach has been handed the reins to a team that has five other players ranked highly in Northern California, including sophomores Jennifer Chui and Vidya Dabir.
Monta Vista started the season in Fresno at the Peachtree Invitational, a prestigious event that features 64 teams from throughout the state. And the biggest challenge for the Matadors appeared to be the 104-degree heat, as they turned back six opponents in two days, Sept. 1011, including five-time Peachtree champion Menlo School. They beat three teams 6-0 and the other three 6-1.
The Mats improved their record to 12-0 recently with a 5-2 win over De Anza Division rival Los Gatos.
Other Monta Vista players include Taskeen Bains, Stephanie Wu, Courtney Chen, Stephanie Wu, Frances Lin and Chan Nguyen.
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