Wind whipped the tennis ball in every which way, but the Arlington Eagles were ready to battle to the death against the Everett Seagulls; the wind just gave the teams more of a chance to soar.

During warm-ups, Sophomore Connor Guthrie said he was “pumped, ready to do his best and be positive.” This was his first time playing number one singles as he has played number two singles all season. Guthrie has gained three wins during the season and feels very fortunate to have gotten so many opportunities, especially playing against seniors as a sophomore. Guthrie gave some wisdom about tennis before his match started, “The game is mostly mental and a little bit physical.” Eyes will be on Guthrie these next two years of tennis.

This game provided another first, this time for senior Connor Ghirardo. He played as number one doubles with a fellow senior teammate, Jesse Vaughn. This is Ghirardo’s first time playing doubles since sophomore year as he gets ready for leagues.

As the match heated up, temperatures cooled way down. “Can we penguin, I’m kind of cold.” senior Kai Wittenberg pipes up. Surrounding players huddled closer. Weird looks were shot their way but senior Coleman Davis said, “We penguin all the time, it’s a big part of tennis.”

Mr. Cunningham, AHS teacher and varsity coach said, “Well, we have officially reached October where the wind and the rain are also something we are against.” And he was right. A downpour started after iffy rain sprinkled off and on throughout the entire match. The match ended in everyone running for cover and abandoning the match. At that point, Everett had won 4 qualifying matches resulting in a loss for Arlington 0-4. The tennis team faces Marysville Getchell for their last match on Wednesday, October 15, 2014, which is also senior night.