The De Anza Women’s Tennis team came up short after making it to the state finals, losing 5-2 to Saddleback College. After Saddleback took a 2-0 lead with wins from the Number 2 and 4 spots, De Anza tied it up with wins from Number 1 Cartoon Phukachampa and Number 4 Samantha Lam. Saddleback answered back with two final wins in the singles portion, defeating De Anza’s number 5 and 6 players, and finished the match with a decisive 6-0, 6-1 victory in the only doubles match played. Despite the loss, 2010 proved to be a wildly successful season under the tutelage of first year Head Coach Ron Ward. The team of Cartoon Phukachampa, Diane Lutran, Samantha Lam, Priyanka Parikh, Ally Decaro, and Phoebe Tuay performed exceptionally, winning the NorCal Competition as well as the Ojai Tournament in southern California. Even with the season over, players could be seen out on the tennis courts playing friendly games. “Ask yourself, why are they here, playing now,” Ward said. “The season is over, and yet they love the game, and they love each other’s company.” This is one of the many things that made this year’s team special.