Agoura Girls Tennis Team Has at Least One More Point to Make in Season of Firsts

This has been a season of firsts for the Agoura girls tennis team.

The Chargers won their first Frontier League title. They finished the regular season with their first undefeated record (17-0, 6-0 in league). And they achieved their highest-ever Southern Section ranking, entering the first round of the playoffs Thursday as the No. 2-seeded team in the 3-A Division.

First-year Coach Vicki Sveda said depth has been the key.

“We have three very strong singles players in Kathy Teobaldi, Jennifer Whitney and Trisha Silverman,” she said. “That has helped tremendously because we’re usually up 9-0 at the end of the singles. We only have to win one of nine doubles sets to win the match.”

This doesn’t mean the Chargers lack talent in doubles.

On Monday, the Agoura doubles teams of Teobaldi and Silverman and sophomore Cindy Neilson and freshman Jennifer Frizzelle finished first and second in league individual championships.

If Agoura has a weakness, it’s inexperience. The Chargers have three freshmen, two sophomores and a junior on the playoff roster.

“Five of our top players have tournament experience,” Sveda said. “So the mental and psychological strain of the playoffs shouldn’t affect them.”

Sveda hopes that this tournament experience will lead to another Agoura first on Nov. 18: a Southern Section title.