On Thursday, Sept. 22, girls’ tennis hosted school rival San Mateo High School. 

With a final score of 6-1, the Panthers (4-2 Peninsula Athletic League (PAL) Bay Division) easily triumphed over the Bearcats. Although the two schools are known to be rivals, Thursday’s matches were more easygoing. .

Burlingame’s No. 3 doubles team, freshmen Samantha Tom and Evelyn Du, have proven to be consistent: the duo has won every one of their matches this season. 

Although she is new to the team dynamics, Tom has enjoyed playing at the varsity level.

“I’m definitely a little nervous because everyone’s older than me, but I think I’m doing pretty well. I’d like to play more consistently,” Tom said. 

Tom also noted that she felt at ease and relaxed during the match against San Mateo. 

“Our opponents were friendly. We introduced ourselves and had a nice conversation,” Tom said.

Doubles player, senior Izzy Kossar also saw the Bearcats as friendly competitors. During the matchup, Kossar noticed that both sides were very supportive of each other, whether they won or lost.

 “I think they were very positive even when we were playing games. When we’re down we were cheering [our team] on. It was a good feeling knowing that everyone was happy,” Kossar said. 

Importantly, the match boosted the team’s confidence as they look to continue to compete with Menlo-Atherton High School and Carlmont High School, who sit at No. 1 and No. 2 in the PAL Bay Division. 

“[We’re] planning to keep a positive attitude next time we play San Mateo,” Kossar said. “We’re trying to make [the] PAL [tournament], so that means winning every game.”