Betty Mak has been around the Londonderry High School girls’ tennis program for years now, serving as a varsity assistant and doing vital instructional work with young players.
But as the 2016 season gets rolling, Mak is now the big boss for the LHS lady racketeers, and the pieces she has to work with include three returning starters from a 2015 contingent that posted a modest 6-8 record, six varsity returnees overall, and three promising freshmen intent on testing their personal mettle at the high school level and helping the Lady Lancers wherever and however they can.
Those three important and battle-tested returning starters to the 2016 LHS fold are senior Elizabeth Mak and juniors Sarah Depasquale and Sarah Court. The other three varsity returnees are senior Samantha Board and juniors Kathryn Dwyer and Yuly Cabeza.
The ninth graders are Mary Nicoli, Rachel Cook, and Emily Hatem.
Coach Mak, who has had plenty of good looks at the Division I competition over the years, considers Bedford, Exeter, and Concord to be the teams to watch in the division this spring.
And when asked about her contingent’s keys to its own success between now and June, Mak answered, “Our keys are training the team players to be braver and more strategic at net play, and being able to ‘place’ the ball as opposed to putting away the ball at every shot will be the ultimate goal.”
The Lady Lancers got their 2016 campaign officially started in cold conditions at home last Friday, April 8, dropping a 6-3 decision to the visiting Alvirne High Lady Broncos from Hudson.
And Mak’s mob had its second match of the campaign on the seacoast at Exeter High this past Monday, April 11.
The Lady Lancers suffered a 9-0 loss to the Lady Blue Hawks that afternoon to slip to 0-2 on the young campaign.
 Junior standout Sarah Depasquale and the LHS girls’ tennis team had a bit of a rocky start in their first two matches of 2016. Photo by Chris Paul