The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Hungry for even more
After back-to-back SWC titles, Westlake wants more than just a third title
It has long been said that if you write down a goal you are much more likely to accomplish it.
For the still youthful Westlake girls’ tennis team, the Demons been crossing off plenty of goals over the past two seasons and are hungry for more accomplishments.
Coming off back-to-back Southwestern Conference championships, the Demons feature a veritable who’s who of the area’s top talent.
Led by juniors Emma Peeler, a two-time state qualifier in singles and two-time Morning Journal Player of the Year, and Demi Jhaveri, a twotime district qualifier, coach Saumil Jhaveri has a core of five juniors, two sophomores and a senior, all of whom he has a lot of faith in the work they have put in this offseason.
“We’re very excited obviously because we’re returning our top five spots and have a lot of experience so that is great,” coach Jhaveri said. “We’re going to be strong in those top four positions and especially at number one we have two-time returning state qualifier and at two and three, two very experienced tournament players and our first doubles team is
solid. So I think that will solidify our lineup and I think we’ll be one of the top teams in the area and hopefully advance in the postseason.”
Getting a vocal leader on and off the court in Peeler, the junior said keeping focused each week with the ultimate goal of a state run is her and her teammates mind
at every single practice.
“Personally, one of my biggest goals is just to make it to states again and hopefully I can place this year because I haven’t been able to do that in the past,” Peeler said. “As a team, I would say we are looking forward to competing in the coach’s cup and trying to see if we can get to states as a team and I know we are all working hard towards that.”
On top of the confidence each player possesses, Demi said that a huge boost to the team this year is all of their past success and a fresh new season to prove themselves.
“I think starting off so strong with our first two years that we started as freshmen was really exciting, especially coming in and not really knowing what to expect. To start off winning the conference two years in a row was really nice.” Demi said. “So now that we have that background, I think we’re ready to take it further and hopefully make it to states as a team or individually.”
In order to do that, Jhaveri said she simply believes their best players must step up and be the best every time they step on the court.
“I think our first singles player, Emma, is really strong at singles and me and my doubles partner are really strong there too,” Demi said. “So if we build up and put our best players in the best position, we have our best chance at going further if we do that.”
Between Jhaveri and Peeler, the Demons look to be in great shape for the now, but are also helping the younger players make the jump the next level to really solidify the Westlake program.
“Personally, I am just trying to win as many matches as I can and with my teammates. We just have to do a good job of cheering each other on and being there for one another,” Peeler said. “If one of us gets down, it’s our job to cheer them back on.”
Adding depth to the lineup with junior Ashley Michelich, a two-time district qualifier in doubles, the Demons are one of the toughest groups in the area from top to bottom.
“We want to continue with how we’ve been going in the past two years as SWC champions and we want to show the younger players that we can continue this,” Michelich said. “Then as a team we can go further and further to make it to states.”
With the schedule ahead of them, Saumil has high hopes for his group.
“We need to maintain our focus throughout the season because it’s a long season and not all the matches are competitive, so staying sharp is always a key,” Saumil said. “Practicing in between matches will help us stay fairly focused and I think having the confidence now that they do belong at that level where they can compete, not just getting to state, but placing at state is giving them that belief is going to be key.”