Girls Tennis 2026 season has begun! For some players, it’s back to their usual groove of practice everyday and matches every week. For others it’s their first time trying out for a tennis team at all. However they feel about the season starting up, the team comes to the courts everyday with rackets and enthusiasm.

This year there are 16 girls on the team; 4 seniors, 4 juniors, 3 sophomores, and 5 freshmen. The atmosphere at practice is playful, but at the end of the day each girl has played hard and is a little bit better.

Girls Tennis has been a sport offered at Herron for seven years. From 2021 until the boy’s season in 2025, Akaash Arora was the head coach of both teams. However, girls Tennis now has two new coaches: TIffani Warren and Emily MacMorran-Wandel. Both have warm personalities inviting productive conversations about strategy and advice. They push their trainees to do the very best that they can and are great examples considering they play for USTA (United States Tennis Association) on their own time. It is impressive to see them hit back and forth at practice when explaining tactics. With the changes this year comes hesitation about systems that may have been certain before, but Rowan, Macy, Lilly, and Maddy have stepped up as seniors by keeping traditions going after practice during group stretching and before matches when hyping up the team to go out and win. Before a match, the team huddles and Macy inspires by giving a short speech and leads the team chant which ends in a group bark. The new teammates were reluctant to join in at first but but Macy was persuasive by saying that if they don’t bark she will be jokingly mad, it’s been effective because most of them now participate in the bark. It unites the team and probably disarms the other school. Coach T., coach Emily, players, and parents will make this year one to remember.

Varsity has had some very long matches already in the season. In the very first contest against Tri-West, Sophia Swain and Macy Jewel battled two and a half hours in doubles. A number of other matches have exceeded two hours. It is difficult to compete when you have to be on your toes essentially every minute of the game and it highlights our athletes’ mental toughness.

One great thing about being on a team in any sense is being able to meet new people and strengthen connections. One of the sophomores this year is an exchange student from Spain named Alba Martin-Bermudez. Alba has been at Herron since September and she was on Herron’s cheer team. She is a brave and positive person who adds so much to the team.

What was the biggest adjustment when you came here? 

“The changing of the food schedule in Spain, I used to have lunch at 2-3 pm and dinner at 9-10 pm.”

How has this year helped you grow or change? 

“Being an exchange student from Spain I was able to experience something completely new and it helped me become more independent. I had to adapt to a different culture, school system, and way of life. I feel that I learnt to be more flexible. This experience helped me see the world from a new perspective and helped me grow personally.”

How are academics and sports at Herron different from your previous school?

“High school in Spain was way more difficult. But we didn’t have as many sports at my previous school, I think sports is a great way to make friends.” 

Why did you come to Indianapolis?

“Normally with my exchange student program, you don’t get to choose where you go. I was able to say what I liked and what I didn’t and then a family from the U.S. would pick me. But I had a problem and the family that chose me didn’t find a school for me so I had to search for a family in 15 days because school just started in the US. My parents had some friends from Spain that are working with Lilly and they talk with different people to see if i will be able to go to one of their houses. Right now I live in Carmel with my host family and the high school there didn’t accept me because they only work with one agency and Herron was a good option.” 

What has been your favorite part about being on the tennis team? 

“All the people that I get to meet and going to different high schools for matches.”  

Herron’s girls tennis team welcomes new players and old players. Whether on the team for the first or the last time all the players adapt to the new season. For Alba it was adjusting to a new country, for others it’s playing long matches or being brave enough to bark. Despite the newness of the season the team is already getting into a rhythm, improving their skills, and strengthening new connections and old friendships. Go Achaeans!