The Bakersfield College women’s tennis team started off the second half of the season with a 7-2 victory against Ventura College on March 22.

“Our team came prepared to play, and they did really well,” said coach Gene Lundquist. “It was the best team effort of the year, in terms of quality of play and readiness to play.”

Jaylin and Jennifer Chan played the first two matches against Ventura, and both matches went three sets.

But Jaylin won her match, while her sister Jennifer did not.

Jaylin and Jennifer also played as a doubles team for the first time this season, and won their doubles match 8-3.

After losing their first three games, they won eight games in a row.

“I told them before we started the match that I wanted three wins out of the Chan twins, and they apologized that they only got two. But I was satisfied,” said Lundquist, as he laughed.

Kassie Beadle defeated her Ventura opponent in the singles match, with both sets ending 6-4.

Assistant coach Gaylen Lewis said that Beadle is a very strategic player, comparing her matches to watching a chess game, and Lundquist has said she has shown the most improvement since the season began.

BC took all three doubles matches this time. In their last match against Ventura, BC lost two doubles matches 8-6 and won one match 8-6.

The men’s team didn’t start the season quite so favorably. However, against Ventura College, the men’s team lost 8-1, and their single victory was won because the Ventura player sustained an injury.

“They’re better,” said Coach Rob Slaybaugh. “I hate to admit it, but they’re better. You can’t deny the obvious.”

Slaybaugh thinks the team played better against Ventura on their first match, even though they didn’t win a single match their first time against Ventura.

Slaybaugh said that the team probably suffered from traveling.

“I think you always play better at home,” said Slaybaugh. “When you’re at home, the one thing you don’t have to do is drive two hours.

“When you’re driving those two hours, sometimes you’re excited, sometimes you sleep and you get groggy. You get what I call ‘van legs.'”

The men’s team has a lot of first-year players who may not be used to traveling two hours for an away game.

“Local high school kids might play as good away, but that’s only because when you’re in town, when you go to an away match it’s like driving from Foothill to BHS. What’s that take you like twenty minutes?” said Slaybaugh. “So the kids really don’t have an idea of what it feels like to stay in the van and just be prepared to play. We go through it, but it still takes some getting used to.”

Both teams were supposed to play against Glendale College on March 24 but both games were rescheduled to April 7 due to poor weather conditions.

The men’s team will play next against LA Pierce on March 31 at home, and the women’s team will play Santa Monica College also on March 31 at Santa Monica.