Competition takes on a little more added meaning when the opposition isn't just another face in the crowd.
And perhaps that is the reason why over the past five years, tennis in The Valley has been flourishing with young talent.
More so than ever, girl tennis players in the valley are looking for practice outside of the high school tennis courts, and are turning to tennis clubs and coaches along with taking part in local and national tournaments.
These clubs and tournaments have helped formed bonds between players who belong to different high school teams, and in some cases, rival schools.
The relationship between junior Meghan Sheehan-Dizon of Murrieta Valley and senior Hannah Stone of Great Oak is one such case.
For the past two years, both of their high school teams have battled against each other for league supremacy. In 2007, Great Oak edged Murrieta Valley for its second straight Southwestern League title, while last year the Nighthawks were able to end the Wolfpack's reign.
"It was awesome to win that league title over Great Oak," Sheehan-Dizon said. "My freshman year we lost it to them, and it didn't feel that great, but beating them last year made up for it."
While both enjoyed overcoming the other, the two are better friends than ever and look forward to continuing the rivalry between the two schools this fall.
"We are best friends," Stone said. "It would mean so much, though, to win league this season, after losing so many girls from last year."
If the Wolfpack want to reclaim their title from the Nighthawks this season, they will have to do so without three-time Californian Player of the Year Haley Dixon and experienced senior Amber Nelson, who both will not play this season. Dixon is injured and Nelson transferred.
Sheehan-Dizon and Stone, along with Kristen Hibbs and Jamie Raney (Murrieta Valley), Ashley Mackey and Katelyn Abayan (Vista Murrieta), and Maddie Caropino (Chaparral) are but a few of the tennis players in the Southwestern League who regularly attend tournaments outside of high school. Some attend as many as two tournaments a month, which could turn into all four weekends if they make it to the second week of the tournament.
"I don't think that just knowing your opponents makes this league that much more competitive," Stone said. "I think what makes it more competitive is the fact that these girls are training a lot more and getting better at playing tennis. A lot of these girls know your game, because they have played you before several times. That makes the matches a lot harder."
Some of the athletes, like Sheehan-Dizon and Stone, have been involved with the sport of tennis since they were young kids, and they still see some of the same competition they did when they were younger.
"I started playing tennis when I was 8 years old, and have been playing with this group of girls since," said Sheehan-Dizon. "We always just end up signing up for the same tournaments and have gotten to know each other."
