Successful TCHS tennis team lauded by club

BY Ariana Shah

With the Temescal Canyon varsity girls tennis team represented by several Canyon Lake girls, the Canyon Lake Tennis Club has offered its support in the way of donations and congratulations. The Temescal Canyon High School team just completed a successful season.

“The varsity team was stronger than ever this season,” Jennifer Denson, a Canyon Lake Tennis Club member, said. “They definitely deserve to be recognized for their academics and athletes, many of whom are Canyon Lakers.”

Varsity head coach Laural Hebein, a resident of Canyon Lake, said she is extremely proud of her girls.

“At the start of 2021, we had some hope; we were able to work out together,” she said, describing the COVID-19 restrictions that plagued the team. “It was great to see the girls and get out together. There were so many restrictions, including no rackets and tennis balls, so it was challenging. We had very little time to practice before we got started with our season. Just as we started to hit balls at practice, our first match came up.”

Haley Kielty and Kaylin Kielty, both from Canyon Lake, were named the league’s co-MVPs for their undefeated play this season on the Temescal Canyon High School girls varsity team.Photo provided by Laural Hebein.

Since 2017, the varsity team has moved up from Division Five to a much more competitive Division Two. This advancement required a lot of hard work and dedication from the girls, Laural said. The varsity team had won the CIF title in 2017, but Laural said she is making sure that is not the only championship they’d ever win.

“There were dramatic improvements slowly in the girls’ play,” she said. “Then about halfway through the season, we played the first-place team in our league, and we beat them. We were so excited that we could prove our competitiveness. We ended up as co-league champions with Riverside Poly High School. We then went on to play CIF and did well. After a very long bus ride…5½ hours to Santa Barbara…we won 10-8. It was a challenging match, the girls excelled and were amazing.”

The team’s season came to an end after losing its last match to a team from Palm Springs.

“We lost to a good team, but our growth and improvement this year was something to be very proud of,” Laural said. “Our team’s season was over, but we still had the doubles champions, Hailey and Kaylin Kielty, who are going to the individual championships. They represented our league as one of the top 20 teams in Southern California. They were amazing and won their first match, but fell to the team that came in second place overall.”

The Kielty girls are from Canyon Lake and their father, Bobby Kietly, is the head tennis pro of the Canyon Lake Tennis Club.

Members of the Temescal Canyon High School Varsity Girls Tennis team poses after finishing the season co-champions of its league and winning its first round of the CIF playoffs. Many of the girls on the team, including its head coach, are Canyon Lake residents. The team receives financial and other support from the Canyon Lake Tennis Club.Photo provided by Laural Hebein.

“The Kielty’s are now ranked 16th in Southern California and are playing amazing,” Laural said. “Whether they are a team or play as singles players, the Kielty girls are incredible. They were named co-MVPs of the league for winning all their matches this year.”

The varsity team celebrated its end of the season with a banquet at Holiday Harbor.

“We had a lot to celebrate after a great season,” Laural said. “Not only did the girls do amazing on the court, they academically excelled. We had the whole team on the honor roll during this challenging year.”

Laural credits Bobby Kielty for the team’s success.

“I have been the tennis coach at Temescal Canyon for the last 17 years, and the support that Bobby Kielty has provided cannot even be put into words,” she said. “We are so lucky. His knowledge and dedication to our community and our team are invaluable. We are also grateful to the Canyon Lake Tennis Club which supports our girls and boys teams. We are so grateful for a community that is supportive of these hard-working kids.”

The club has made two generous donations to help with the local high school’s teams. The donations went towards equipment and anything else the team may have needed during their tennis seasons.