By Jessica Cuevas & Nick Ferrara – Staff Reporters

Senior captains Ian Hugo and Bobby Phong help lead their team to a memorable 2016 season.

Overall, the boys team finished with six wins. They also competed in SCCs and captain Bobby Phong made it to states and lasted until the third round.

Hugo played tennis for two years out of his high school career while Phong played for three. Although they were short high school careers, they still took the most out of their time spent on the court.

“Tennis was definitely one of the highlights of my high school career, and although tennis is over I still hope to play as a hobby with friends in college,” Hugo said.

The two captains for sure acquired experience and learned valuable lessons that will stick with them for the rest of their lives.

“The leadership position can make me better because I can now have a bigger voice on the team and it helps me motivate other players on my team when they are down,” Phong said. “I try my best as a captain to have people hit more on the court, so I try to run a lot of captain’s practices.”

The team worked hard this season in order to improve their skill set . Motivation played a big role in improvement for the team, it helped them stay positive even through the losses.

Motivation wasn’t the only technique for improvement.

“Throughout the year, we improved by gaining experience by playing with new partners, playing singles and doubles, and learning from watching each other play,” senior James Mercaldo said.

 

The team set many goals for themselves at the beginning of the season in hopes of going far by setting high standards. Each player pushed their teammates to give 110% on the courts.

“As a team we all do our best to win as many matches as we can, as well as doing good individually,” Hugo said.

 

Overall, the boys tennis team tried their hardest to reach their goals and some went beyond their expectations. It was a great season for the boys, new friendships were made and valuable life lessons were learned.

“It feels good to come to the end of my high school season, all of school is winding down and tennis is a fun, more casual sport for me, I have always enjoyed the team but it’s nice to see the season winding down,” Mercaldo said.

Even though the season is over, there were many memories made on and off the court that will last members of the team a lifetime.