As winter thaws and buds start to appear on trees, the North High girls’ tennis team is back for their spring season. They are coached by North counselor Bryson Wiser and North English teacher Alexandria Landolt.  

As of April 6, the Vikings have gone up against Omaha Northwest, Roncalli, Buena Vista, Bryan, Gretna and Westview. In the coming weeks North will host a varsity triangular against Bryan and Mercy. J.V. will take part in an invitational against Northwest, Westview, Buena Vista, Benson, Bryan, Burke and Omaha South. 

Sofia Acosta, 11, is the number one singles player for the team and part of the number three doubles team with Mary Worshek, 11. Although the Vikings did not win as a team against Northwest, Acosta won her singles match there as well as her next one against Roncalli.  

She started playing tennis in the spring of 2020, during the initial COVID-19 quarantining.  

“My parents and I were looking for a way to get outside and be active and my mom found three rackets on Facebook Marketplace for $15,” Acosta said.  

When they went to the courts to use the rackets, there happened to be a tennis instructor whose clients never showed up to their lesson. They got a free lesson that day and Acosta has been playing ever since.  

“I’m constantly adding new things to my repertoire, like I’m constantly building those skills, so I feel confident with what I have,” Acosta said.  

She feels she has improved a lot since freshman year and even since last year.  

“I just like how [tennis] is pretty friendly to beginners and so you don’t have to be the best, but you can still go out there and have some fun and play,” said Acosta.  

Sabrina Sagitteh, 12, is new to the team this year but already has a win under her belt. In a J.V. match against Roncalli, Sagitteh beat her opponent 6-0. 

Numbers have not been an issue this year, according to Acosta, since they have about 15 girls on varsity and J.V. combined. Schools can have up to 12 people on each team, with six singles players and three doubles pairs, but at North girls often play singles and doubles matches during regular season games.  

The full varsity and J.V. schedules for the Vikings girls’ tennis team can be found at https://mhsaaconference.org/public/genie/72/school/14/.