Every team needs a leader, and seniors Becky Pendola and Joanna Keen have proved themselves to be the best choices for girls tennis.

Both girls were not only chosen by the coaches, but elected by the team to be captains. “It was easy [to take a leadership role]. I’m good friends with a lot of the team so it’s not challenging to take charge,” said Pendola.

“They’re great,” said junior tennis player Gina Sapienza. “They’re good leaders and really nice to everyone.”

Pendola and Keen have been in the program for all four years at RB. “It’s been really fun, especially this year because the team got a lot closer,” said Keen.

“It’s fun. Tennis is my favorite sport, and it’s the only sport I play,” said Pendola.

These girls did not start out as expert players. “I’ve learned how to hit harder and be more aggressive, since I come off as a timid person,” said Keen.

Pendola said, “I’ve gained more power on my hits. I started out just having accuracy, but now I can hit accurately and hard.”

Tennis is not all hard work, but they have fun with it too. “Practices are my favorite part of tennis because we can mess around but still learn tennis at the same time,” said Pendola.

Keen’s favorite part was the summer camp. “The coaches gave us prizes, and everyone loved getting Fruit Roll-Ups,” she said.

Pendola and Keen both want to play tennis after they graduate RB, but only for fun.