Freshman Alexis Mertz pushes herself to be the best player on varsity.  As a new student at Carlsbad High School, Mertz feels blessed making the varsity team.

“I feel honored and very excited to be on the team,” Mertz said. “The team has been really nice to me, and they’ve welcomed me. It’s a cool experience to be a part of a team, especially on varsity, and have people that really care about you.”

Captains senior Victoria Zaks and senior Jiana Huang gladly accepted Mertz because of her motivation to succeed. Her passion translates into her academics as well. Taking numerous honor classes, Mertz has also been elected as the freshman class president this year.  Always looking forward to a challenge, Mertz pushes herself to become a versatile player in everything she participates in.

“It’s awesome that she is the only freshman on the team this year,” junior Jiana Huang said. “This early in the season, she is continuously surprising me by already becoming a really good singles and doubles player. Her talent and spirit are pretty impressive.”

Playing with enthusiasm, Mertz continues to show the leaders of the team that she deserves the varsity spot.

“Lexi is a great attribute to the team,” Huang said. “She works extremely hard. She is always positive, extremely supportive, energetic and a really good player.  I love Lexi’s play. I love cheering her on and watching her play all the time, because she brings life to the team and positive energy to the game.”

The camaraderie on the team brings the best out of Mertz. Wishing to prove what Lancers are made of, the freshman is looking forward to her matches against LCC and Cathedral.

“I have full confidence that the team is going to do extremely well,” Mertz said. “We have a strong team with some experienced seniors. We have practiced really hard this season so far, so I think we will succeed. We will keep working on our weaknesses, and we will be great. I enjoy the challenge and I want to see how well we will do under pressure.”