What does ice cream and tennis have in common? Well, probably not much unless you are a member of the Scotts Valley High School Girls tennis team.
The Falcons, who shared the 2022 SCCAL tennis championship with Aptos, combined high quality tennis with plenty of fun along the way, finishing the season 11-2 overall and 9-2 in league play.
This is the second league championship in school history for Scotts Valley, the last coming in 2015.
Ice cream was added into the team mix early in the season.
Head coach Scott Goodrich knew the Falcons enjoyed ice cream from last year and decided to add in a new wrinkle this season.
“We have a drill where hitting an orange cone with a tennis ball is the objective,” he said. “I thought, let’s add some fun to this drill. Each time a player hits the cone, it’s ice cream for the team.”
After four cones were hit, Goodrich quickly realized he had created a monster. While the drill was adjusted, Goodrich did pay up. The team enjoyed ice cream bars at various points of the season.
SVHS Girls Team — Back row (from left): Senior Livia Johnston, junior Stella Cheney, senior Veronica Farquhar, senior Emma Dyc-O’Neal, junior Maya Bensen, sophomore Erin Szymanski and sophomore Sofia Niklaus. • Front row (from left): Freshman Julia Kennedy, freshman Riya Kuriakose and junior Samantha Wagner. • Not pictured: Senior Oona Poikonen, sophomore Isabella Padilla and freshman Maya Wexler.
As the Falcons endured hot August practice days on the court, Goodrich and assistant coaches Patricia Dyc-O’Neal and John Szymanski quickly began to realize that this team had something special: Depth.
With a strong nucleus of experienced players along with new additions to the team, this could be a special year for the Falcons.
The Falcons got rolling quickly with two non-league wins over St. Francis High School (Watsonville) and at Watsonville High School.
The team ladder solidified quickly with senior Emma Dyc-O’Neal at No. 1 singles, senior Veronica Farquhar at No. 2 singles, junior Stella Cheney at No. 3 singles and sophomore Sofia Niklaus rounding out the singles crew at No. 4.
In doubles action, there was some mixing and matching but senior Livia Johnston and sophomore Erin Szymanski held down No. 1, juniors Maya Bensen and Samantha Warner secured the No. 2 spot and freshmen Julia Kennedy, Maya Wexler, Riya Kuiriakose and senior Oona Poikonen rotated at No. 3.
Sophomore Isabella Padilla injured her knee early in the season and while she did come back to practice, it was decided that rest was best when it came to playing competitive matches.
As the league season began, the Falcons had a quiet confidence heading into their first match with Soquel, always a top contender. Scotts Valley won that match 5-2 and rolled through the first round of league play defeating Harbor, Santa Cruz and Aptos.
“The Aptos win was a milestone for us as we had never come close to beating the Mariners and they are always so talented,” Goodrich said. “That win gave the girls a jolt of confidence.”
Goodrich, in his third year coaching both the boys’ and girls’ teams’ at Scotts Valley, now had to make sure the team didn’t get ahead of itself.
“Winning is great but sometimes it can lead to overconfidence and complacency,” he said. “We made sure the team stayed focused and to be honest, they responded beautifully.”
The second half of the league season started off just like the first half for the Falcons with victories over Soquel, Harbor, Santa Cruz and SLV.
In the final week of the season and in a battle in Aptos to determine the league champion, the Mariners ended Scotts Valley’s undefeated hopes with a 5-2 win. With both teams now 9-1, after Scotts Valley defeated SLV in the’ final home match of the year, the Falcons and Mariners were crowned 2022 co-league champions.
The final piece of the puzzle was now to determine which team would represent the SCCAL in the Central Coast Section playoffs. A one-match playoff took place on Halloween afternoon at Soquel High to determine the league CCS entry.
In a dramatic afternoon featuring competitive and exciting tennis in singles and doubles, the Mariners edged the Falcons 4-3, with two of the three Falcons’ losses going to tiebreakers.
“I was so proud of each girl and the team as a whole,” said Goodrich. “Everyone played great against great competition and that’s all you can ask for.”
And yes, there will surely be a post-season party to celebrate what will go down as one of the best girls’ tennis teams’ in Scotts Valley history. And yes, no doubt there will be plenty of ice cream!