LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Anyone for Tennis?


Anastasia Kaiser Photos Doug Kohen

This year is set to be another great year of girls' tennis in Lamorinda, as all three teams are aiming for the DFAL title.

Last year's DFAL champion, Miramonte, returns one of their most important weapons to the squad in junior Anastasia Kaiser. Kaiser was named first team all DFAL last year and for the past two years has won the individual DFAL title. She is a team captain for this year.

"Miramonte won DFAL as a team largely due to our commitment to intensity and our wonderful coaches," says Kaiser on her team's performance last fall.

The Mats lost senior Carolyn Esserman, a 2009 second team all DFAL selection. Miramonte starts the quest to defend their league title on September 14 at Acalanes.

As for Acalanes, they finished in fourth place in DFAL last year with a record of 6-6 in league and 6-7 overall. The Dons played well against most teams, but could not keep up with the league's powerhouses, losing to Miramonte, Campolindo, and twice to Dublin.

Valery Jorgensen, senior and team captain said, "This year we got some good freshmen trying out and have a lot of returning players so it looks like our team is going to be pretty good this year. I think that our team will do about the same or a little better finishing probably third or around there."

See the Dons on September 14 when they host Miramonte.

Campolindo starts their year with a home match against Dougherty Valley on September 14th. They come off of a strong finish last year, taking second in DFAL with an overall record of 17-4. Returning for the Cougars is some key talent on the court that will help them throughout the year, including seniors Nicole Wedlake and Donne Nefdt, this year's team captains. Wedlake was also named first team all-DFAL last year.

"This year I hope we can live up to our team's success last year. We've got a lot of new girls on the team with fresh talent and a lot of spirit, so this season is undoubtedly going to be epic," commented Nefdt, who earned an honorable mention last year for the all-DFAL team.