What a difference a year has made for the Decatur tennis team.

Last season they finished winless as a team and only won a total of four individual matches during the season.

Prior to the season, Decatur head coach Sam Angel said that “improvement is what we are striving for, but hopefully we can win some matches along the way.”

So far the Gators have done just that. They added a second victory over Federal Way this season, winning 5-0 last Thursday.

“Through and through, everyone has gotten a lot better,” Angel said. “We have girls this year who were pretty much just athletes coming in and had never picked up a tennis racket. They’ve really developed a lot. They look a lot more like tennis players now. The girls who actually had some tennis background are sharpening each other up too. Everyone is getting better, so it’s looking good.”

One of the team’s newcomers this year is junior German-exchange student and singles player Paulina Tiedeken. She’s had previous tennis experience and has given the team a big boost in competitiveness.

Tiedeken defeated Federal Way’s Hannah Kim 6-0, 6-1 in the top singles match.

Decatur’s second singles player, Giann Nguyen, is a freshman that Angel believes has a promising four years ahead of her. She was victorious over Sydney Truong 6-4, 6-1 in the closest match of the day.

The top doubles team for the Gators, Anna Jo and Rachel Kim, picked up a 6-0, 6-0 win over Eden Beyene and Istahil Yussuf.

The second doubles match was only slightly closer as Mika Tanaka and Dayoung Cheong picked up a 6-2, 6-0 win for the Gators over Sylvia Unat and Sandra Hernandez.

Due to a shortage of players for Federal Way, Decatur’s Caitlin Spurlock and Hannah Wolf won by default.

“Ws always feel good,” Angel said. “Ultimately we all just want to get better and have fun out here. Hopefully it’s just the start of turning it around and getting a winning season in the coming years.”

Decatur (2-7, 2-4) lost to Curtis on Wednesday 4-1. They face Beamer Friday at 3 p.m. at Sagahlie. They finish the season at home at 3 p.m. on Tuesday against Jefferson.

Federal Way (0-9, 0-7) lost to Beamer 4-1 on Wednesday. They close out their season against Jefferson at 3 p.m. Friday at Thomas Jefferson High School.