By Cassandra Soda – News Editor

Senior captain Nicholas Dostal stands out on the tennis court when up against other players.

Dostal is captain with his fellow teammate Kenny Fields, and he plays doubles with his partner freshman Brian Zirkel.

“My favorite thing about tennis is that each point is its own unique battle so it never gets boring,” Dostal said.

In order to make states a person needs 10 wins individually or with one partner. Dostal’s record is currently 3-5 and he is on pace to make states.

“Nick knows a lot about the game that I don’t and teaches me as we go through the season,” freshman Brian Zirkel said. “He has been really understanding this season when I mess up and he tries to help me with it.”

To make states as a team, 10 wins is required, and to make the SCC Tournament the team needs to place in the top 8. The team’s current record is 4-8.

Ever since he was a kid, Dostal has always enjoyed tennis – both the aspects of watching and playing the sport.

“I’ve always loved watching Wimbledon and the U.S. Open as a kid and I wanted to improve my own skills after being inspired by watching legends like Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal,” Dostal said.

Dostal has been playing tennis for years and plans on continuing to play after high school – not competitively, but as a hobby.

“I started doing tennis camps during the summers at Eisenhower and Milford Indoor as a kid,” Dostal said. “I began playing competitively my freshman year.”

Zirkel said that Dostal is a great addition to the team and always tries to contribute in every way.
“Nick gets us all excited for out games and even when we have a tough loss he still makes us feel good,” Zirkel said.

The team has already improved immensely since last year, which is shown by their current record.

Some other key players on the team include Zirkel, Fields, who plays third singles, and first singles player Sanskar Shah.