For me being on the team has always been a second home,” said Paly girls tennis team co-captain Mailinh Truong.

With the season set to begin, Truong is excited for more than just tennis competition, but also for the home that being on the team creates for her as well.

The girls tennis team is entering the new season with hopes to continue  of the success from their previous season. After winning the El Camino League last year, the team has now moved up to the De Anza League, the top league in the Central Coast Section (CCS).

The team was in the De Anza League two years ago, where the team faced many obstacles. Nonetheless, senior captain Emma Cockerell is optimistic for the season, and said that the team can prevail.

“When I was a sophomore, we were in [the De Anza] League as well, but we weren’t as well matched against [other teams],” Cockerell said. “I think this is the first year in a while that we have a chance to shine in the upper league.”

This year, the team is  bigger than previous years, with 17 players as opposed to the usual 10.  Truong attributes much of these high hopes to the strong skillset of the incoming freshmen.

“We’re really impressed with the amount of talent we’ve seen from the freshmen,” Truong said.

The team is especially excited about the addition of one freshman, Madeleine Page. As of Sept. 3, Paige is ranked 174th in the nation.

“She’s probably the best player on our team right now,” Truong said.

According to Cockerell, Page was a lucky addition to the team.

“[Page] actually was originally going to go to Gunn, but ended up being able to come to Paly, so we feel really fortunate to have her on our team,” Cockerell said.

Much of the hopes for the upcoming season can be attributed to the team’s recent success in singles competition, according to Cockerell.

“We have really talented singles players from previous years,” Cockerell said. “Our singles and upper doubles will all be really solid.”

The team has its league opener on Sept. 12 against Homestead High School.