Q&A with varsity tennis captains: Hannah Katzenstein, Dylan Marmur

By Molly Goldberg, Culture Editor|December 18, 2019

Photo credit: Amelia Mathis

Sophomore Naya Ben-Meir serves a ball at Rancho Park against Marymount High School’s tennis team.

When the clock struck three p.m. every day during fall sports season, the varsity tennis team headed across the street to the Barrington Recreation Center for practice. Comprised of 18 girls from every grade in the upper school, the team finished undefeated in the league. Senior captains Hannah Katzenstein and Dylan Marmur credited this accomplishment to the team’s tight-knit relationship. The Oracle sat down with the two of the three varsity tennis captains while the season was still going on to discuss the team’s success.

How has the season been going so far? 

Hannah Katzenstein [HK]: So far, so good. We’re undefeated in league and we have a really good team with a good balance [of players]. There are kids from every grade. 

Dylan Marmur [DM]: I think this season has been really great because we work very cohesively and a lot of our doubles teams are inter-grade teams. Out of our singles players, two of the four of us are new, and we have some new freshmen. It has been very exciting.

What are your goals as team captains this year? 

[HK]: Since we were freshmen to now, the Archer tennis team has gotten a lot closer, so we want to continue to keep that bond.

[DM]: We’ve really been trying to make a conscious effort to get all the grades [on the team] to bond. Today we had a senior-freshman lunch, and we have made senior-freshman buddies. We also do sleepovers and hangouts after practice sometimes.

How do you think tennis impacts the Archer community?

[HK]: I think tennis is underrated at Archer. Tennis impacts the Archer community because it is a really unique sport where we all play individually, like Dylan and I don’t play together, but how we both do in our matches affects the whole Archer team. It is a really interesting experience because if more girls knew about tennis, they would see it is a really good opportunity to have fun with friends or by yourself and get your emotions out. We also have a lot of snacks, especially snow cones. Sometimes we even have double [the] snacks.

[DM]: Sometimes we even have triple snacks. But honestly, I think the Archer community would really learn from tennis because we are a very close-knit team despite playing separately. 

When did your initial love for tennis begin?

[DM]: Me and Hannah, in seventh grade, both did not make the developmental team or the playing team. We were the only two players to not make either one. The next year, we came back, full force, practiced all summer, and we were singles one and singles two and co-captains in eighth grade. For me, that was my big ‘love of tennis’ moment — that we got to come back and do that with everyone.