With two sets of sisters and an unwavering attitude, the Tam girl’s varsity basketball team is currently holding their ground with an overall record of 11-9 and are 3-4 in the Marin Country Athletic League (MCAL).

     Tam defeated long-time rival Redwood 53-35, ending a four-game losing streak on January 26. Sophomore forward Jenna May led the team with 14 points, and senior center Ava Geupel tallied up 12 points. After the game, Tam players felt an overwhelming sense of relief.
      “After getting hung-up on a disappointing losing streak, we decided to revamp our whole team, that way everyone would work hard,” said senior guard Gaby Mercer-Slomoff. “It definitely paid off. We got the win tonight.”
     Tam suffered a crushing 28-67 defeat against Drake on January 22, l. While there could have been many reasons for Tam’s lackluster play, one thing was clear: it was not Tam’s night.
     “We didn’t play the way we know we are capable of playing. We went down early and did not keep our composure once we were down. From there they [Drake] just piled on the points,” said senior Sarah May.
     Tam  Head Coach Rob Viramontes, he believes that his team can still succeed. “We have great chemistry and a good balance of experienced and athletic players,” said Viramontes. “We consider ourselves one big family and strive to support and push each other in every practice.”
     Junior forward Olivia Trombadore maintained a positive attitude after the Drake loss. “It’s a great group of girls. We’re not perfect, and we’ve had some arguments, but so does every sports team. We’ve worked through our differences, and together, we step out on the court strong every night.”
The four previous losses to Drake Justin-Siena, 45-59, Terra Linda, 36-50, and Marin Catholic, 38-51, showed the girls’ tough attitude and ability to put the defeats behind them.            
     “We have shown tremendous progress but we will continue to work on fine tuning our offense and defense.  The girls are playing some of the best ‘team’ basketball and each player is looking to get her teammates involved,” Viramontes said. “I always strive to have my teams be one of the best defensive teams.  This season is no different than any other and our coaching staff expects nothing less than a serious commitment to improving every day.” 

This article originally appeared in the February 2010 issue.