Setting up for the first serve, eyes locked on the bright flashy ball, forehand volley, backhand volley and repeat. This is what sophomore Jayati Karre has experienced and has the opportunity to put her skills to the test by being ranked number one on the girls FHN tennis team for the 2021 school year. Before the season kicked off, Karre and her team competed for rankings in order to go against other schools in matches.

“‘Jayati you’re number one’, and I was like ‘wow I just did that’,” Karre said, “ It was exciting.”

The following week after the ranking tryouts, the team’s assistant coach, Coach Jean Varker told Karre and her teammates that she was ranked first for the team.

“I try to stay as confident as I possibly can, I do have some pressure but I always go onto the court to win, that’s just my mindset,” Karre said. “I go in to win but that does not always happen. I still try to reflect, such as did I play my best? Because if I did then that’s winning to me.”

As the days go by people can forget what attributes and skills they bring to their team. Sophomore Lauren Chance is a fellow teammate to Karre and
notices some positives and strengths about Karre.

“Jayati is a very passionate player and a very caring person, she really cares about the sport of tennis,” Chance said.

Organization is key for success, in Karre’s eyes commitment and dedication towards your craft on top of school work takes time.

“It is a really big commitment becauseIt’s not just school, it’s practice, games and you’re going to come home late and have homework to do, so I think making sure that your organized enough and have a good schedule that is not going to stress you out will
help you,” Karre said. “You also have to be really interested in the sport as well, while still having fun without stressing yourself out too much. But you
definitely need to aim to do your best.”