This fall, for the first time in her career, singles player Carrie Xue (’25) joined a team: Archer varsity tennis.

Xue began playing tennis at 5 years, and by age 10, she was competing in USTA tennis tournaments as a singles player. Xue spent her freshman year at Weil Tennis Academy before transferring to Archer as a sophomore, where she joined varsity tennis. Weil Tennis Academy is a coed boarding school located in the Ojai Valley, which prides itself on the world-class training program, run by a top international coaching team.

Xue said she was drawn to Archer because of how the school emphasizes the importance of academics for student-athletes.

“I had lots of friends that came here and heard many good reviews and that the environment was just so great,” Xue said. “I thought everyone was very smart, academic and well-rounded. I knew wanted to be around this.”

Coach Paula Feigenbaum has been involved with the Archer tennis program for 8 years. Feigenbaum began as the assistant coach and has since taken over the program. When she heard Xue was coming to Archer, she said was excited to train her on her first tennis team.

 “When this school accepted her and I found out that there was a student coming from Weil — I knew that she was going to be a really fantastic player and probably would want to play singles,” Feigenbaum said in a phone interview. “The most interesting thing about Carrie when I first met her was that, as a tennis player, she had never been on a tennis team.”  

Freshman Tatiana Bojezco joined varsity tennis this year and met Xue for first time at a pre-season practice.

“She brings a lot of happy energy,” Bojeczko said. “Whenever I see her playing like a match, she’s always smiling.”

Xue said the team welcomed her, supported her throughout the season and helped her find her place on the team and at Archer.

“[The team is] very welcoming, super warm — just a big team — [and] very fun to be a part of, and I guess you make so many more friends when you’re on that team,” Xue said. “I’ve made so many through the team, especially because it’s my first year, and everyone is just so welcoming.” 

As a singles player, Xue has never experienced a team environment. During this past tennis season, Xue said she constantly felt supported at matches and always had at least one of her teammates cheering her on while she played.

“In the very last match in the second round of CIFs against Fountain Valley, Carrie was the very last player playing and all 13 girls were sitting on that fence, cheering her on,” Feigenbaum said. “It was really beautiful because it really made me feel like it came full circle from a player who had never been on a team to having 13 players cheer her on for her very final match of her sophomore year.”

Feigenbaum said Archer’s tennis program has grown in strength as well as the quality of players in the past six years. In the last two years, the varsity team has moved up from Division 3 to Division 1. Xue has used her skills to participate in both singles and doubles.

“Carrie is very versatile. She can play both singles and doubles, and not all players can do that,” Feigenbaum said. “There are some players who only want to play doubles and vice versa. But, she she loves doing both. ”

Founded in 1913, the California Interscholastic Federation manages public and private school sports in the state. There are 569 schools and 82 leagues in the CIF southern section. Even with this level of competition, Feigenbaum said Xue has solidified her spot on Archer tennis.

“She really competed as an individual, and she just shined the entire season,” Feigenbaum said. “Everyone adores her, and I think we really welcomed her. It really came full circle for her.”

Xue aims to continue her career in college at a Division 1 program. Xue left new team tennis players like her with a piece of advice.

 “Just try it out. Because even if you’re not playing, you are still a part of the team,” Xue said. “To play tennis, you just have to be fearless.”