Multitudes of caterpillars and now moths have taken over the tennis courts, causing distractions to the Lady Scots.

The home base of the moths is a big tree located next to the tennis courts. Some of the branches grow out and over the courts. As the moths fly off the trees, they begin to drift towards the players and distract them from the play.

Freshman Pauline Sy said, “One time a moth flew on the court and I accidentally hit it with my racket instead of the ball. I had bug guts all over my racket!”

“They are so annoying. There are so many of them,” Sy added.

Many times, the moths crowd around the courts and surround the players. This can block the players’ view and diminish the chances of getting to the ball.

The moths can be annoying even to the Lady Scots and spectators who are off the court doing homework or having a snack. The moths hover around the players’ heads and can be incredibly distracting.

Minh-Han Vu, a Lady Scots’ doubles player, said, “We would like them to disappear. They are so annoying and just thinking about how the moth could have been in the food is disgusting.”

Before the moths came around, the caterpillars had taken over one of the tables by the courts and any area around it. Now the caterpillars have settled into their cocoons, but the entire table is still covered in them.

The corners of the table even have been eaten away by hungry, growing caterpillars. In the near future, the cocoons will turn into more moths and the players will become even more distracted.

Junior Neeshae Wain said, “I’ve had three caterpillars on me and moths have swarmed up all around me. It gets all up in my hair and on my stuff. I have a fear that there’s a caterpillar in my shoe and it distracts me from play.”

Despite these issues, the Lady Scots went on the win their match against the Half Moon Bay Cougars, and stole the Cougars’ second place spot.