Girls Tennis Eyes District Title Under New Leadership

The Oakton High girls tennis team is coming off one of its most successful seasons to date, finishing the regular season undefeated and earning the Concorde District title.

The Cougars have four of their top six players returning this year, including junior Katie Clark and senior Alina Suyama who will maintain the No. 1 and No. 2 spots again this year. Clark is a two-time singles district champion, and Clark and Suyama teamed up to grab the doubles title two years in a row, as well.

But though the level of talent remains relatively consistent for this year's team, one major change has occurred: first-time coach Lauren Patrizi will lead the team after .

"I was looking up the team after I got the job and saw they were undefeated. I just thought, 'OK, well all I have to do is not mess them up,'" Patrizi said with a laugh. "Their last season was very impressive."

Coaching is a new endeavor altogether for Patrizi. She played high school tennis in Pennsylvania, and kept up with the sport recreationally through the years.

She first picked up a tennis racquet because it was in her blood: Both her parents played and her mom took a special interest in taking her and her brothers out on the weekends to teach them in the ins and outs of the game. More than five years after her mother's death, the sports helps make her feel connected to her, Patrizi said.

"I like tennis because it's not just you against yourself, it should be teamwork. It's good activity and there's a lot of strategy involved, as well," she said.

Without an assistant coach, Patrizi has been reaching out to the boys tennis coach, Betsy Tyskowski, for advice.

"She's awesome. She's been a big help," Patrizi said. "I had a pretty good idea of what needed to happen, but having her as a sounding board has been great."

Patrizi was also happy to find she inherited a united team, which can sometimes be difficult to find in a largely individual sport. Their camaraderie likely helped them in the transition from one coach to another, she said.

"There is great team spirit," she said. "I was very happy to see that because that can really affect a season."

Suyama, now a co-captain who witnessed upperclassmen deal with a coaching change her freshman year, had an idea of what to expect, so she has tried to help Patrizi get acclimated.

"It's been fine. We've been able to get to know her through these practices over the last couple weeks and we all like her," said Suyama, who also praised Patrizi's looser coaching style. "She kind of lets us do our own thing during matches, which I personally like."

Patrizi agreed with Suyama's interpretation of her coaching style, saying she wants the girls learn from their own mistakes, especially during practice and scrimmages.

"We have a pretty strong team as it is. They have experience, they have the background," Patrizi said. "At this point, I want to see what they can do. I'll go to them when I really feel I need to have a chat with them. To a certain extent, they have an inner coach, as all athletes do. I want them to feel like they can come to me to work out problems they notice in their own games because it should be an open conversation."

The scrimmages have come to an end, and the Cougars will begin regular season matches with their season- and home-opener 3:30 p.m. Tuesday against Herndon.

"I think we're going to do really good. Last year we were undefeated and District champions, something we'd love to do again," said Suyama, who will be playing for University of Mary Washington next year. "I think we have the potential to. A lot of talent has stepped up and will be starting this year, so I think we have a chance of doing as well as we want."