Swinging into Next Season
Five freshmen, four sophomores, two juniors, and one senior. Seven girls just graduated from the girls varsity tennis team this year, so what happened to all the senior boys? Stephen Wong, the only senior on the boys varsity tennis team this year, offers an explanation.
“A lot of the seniors left because they just wanted to focus on getting jobs or had too much work,” said Wong.
Despite this, the team gained five strong freshmen--Andrew Ergood, Jackson Englade, Michael Stuart, Niko Lim, and Yuri Guiotti--who made up for the lack of upperclassmen and brought something new to the courts. Though most of the freshmen had played tennis in the past, playing it as a high school sport was a whole new experience for them.
“My first few matches I was kind of shaky because we were playing older kids. It was a bit hard, so I just learned how to hit with them,” said Stuart.
However, with the help of the upperclassmen and coaches at practices and weekend workouts, all the freshmen, including Stuart, improved and were able to step up their game.
“I definitely improved. I started off the year being sort of rusty and honestly not that great, and playing with those older kids that are a lot better forced me to get a lot better,” said Ergood.
As one of the captains, Wong was able to see the team’s improvements especially well. “We definitely improved. Our doubles teams got a lot better and our singles players definitely improved as well,” said Wong. “We had an amazing season with a bunch of great victories.”
Being a freshman on varsity didn’t just give Ergood and the other freshmen an opportunity to improve their game by playing with the upperclassmen; it also gave them the chance to create new friendships with them.
“Honestly I think the best part was just hanging out with a lot of the older kids. It was really fun,” said Ergood.
From defeating Northgate 5-4 to cheering their number one sophomore Andre Grenville on as he beat Campo’s number one player Cal Hunter in a three set match, the team created many memories and developed a strong support system that played an important role in moving past losses and fighting for success.
Although Wong is graduating, he has hopes for next year’s season. “I think for next year if our doubles teams really pull through, I think they’re going to win a lot more,” said Wong.
Things are indeed looking bright for next season. On top of the fact that they will be welcoming even more strong freshmen including Trevor Wong, the returning boys will be working hard off season to do their part in preparing for the 2018-19 season.
“We’re going to be training a lot over the summer,” said Grenville.
