This year is the first time girls tennis has had a program-wide pinkout. The event included a JV2 match on Tuesday Oct. 1 against Downers Grove North, a JV1 match on Oct. 7 against Riverside-Brookfield, and a varsity pinkout practice on Wednesday Oct. 2.

“The pinkout was super fun,” varsity player Jessica Sloan ‘25 said. “Our team enjoyed it because since tennis is an individual sport, team things like this really help us bond and feel connected. It’s a great reminder that we are all here to support one another, and it was amazing to support such an important cause together.”

While a varsity match was originally planned against Sandburg it was canceled due to rain and unable to be rescheduled, varsity coach Clint Buetikofer said. However, the team still wanted to participate in the event and decided to have a pinkout practice instead.

“We wanted to do more fun and team bonding activities that could raise awareness especially since October is breast cancer awareness month,” Buetikofer said. 

While the pinkout was not used to raise money, the team is looking to use this year’s opportunity as a starting point for future events, junior varsity player Simon Brown ‘25 said.

“We’re hoping to start by spreading awareness through our pinkout match, and in the future we’re hoping to turn it into a fundraiser to be able to get support instead of just raising awareness,” Brown said.

Additionally, over the remainder of the season the team continued work on practicing and building strategies for different scenarios on the court, Buetikofer said. 

“Whether it’s practicing different things we can do to give ourselves a better chance of winning or whether it’s how to combat things that opponents do, it’s important to work on,” he said.

Buetikofer also pointed out a notable victory against York earlier in the season.

“We had a pretty good dual meet record,” he said. “Probably our biggest success was beating York in the head-to-head dual meet. It really took everyone on the team, everyone that was playing, to get us that win since they’re one of the better teams in the state.”

Buetikofer also reflected on his experience coaching this season.

“I love coaching and competing and getting to be a part of a team,” Buetikofer said. “It’s so great to get to help players improve and be along for the ride with them. I celebrate wins and feel the losses with them.”