On Tuesday, the boys’ tennis team lost in a close match against the Carlmont Scots, with a final score of 4-3.
The one doubles, seniors Oliver Novak and Thomas Garff, were first off the court with a quick 6-2, 6-2 win. On their strong start, Novak said, “We just had to make sure we didn’t miss and wait for the other team to give us the point.”
The next match that came off the court was freshman Thomas Greenlead, who lost 1-6, 1-6. Singles three junior Calvin Linnert trailed right behind, after suffering a 0-6, 3-6 loss.
Singles one, junior Aditya Kudaravalli had a tough 1-6, 6-1, 7-10 loss. “I think as a team we have some big shoes to fill, and we have not performed as well as previous years because we lost a lot of guys last year, but I’m optimistic about the future as we have a young team and we could easily be back in contention for the number 1 spot,” said Kudaravalli.
With the teams’ match score at 1-3, doubles two team senior Thomas Ellingson and junior Rowan Hanley did not give up, walking off the court with a 6-4, 6-4 win. “The season’s been up and down, pretty similar to last year but we’re still in the running for CCS. We’ll have one more match against Carlmont and that one will likely decide who makes it. There’s lots of work to do before then,” said Hanley.
In a tense game, the doubles three team of sophomores Cubby Derrough and Ismail Safdari, solidified the match’s fate with a 7-5, 5-7, 5-10 loss.
Singles two, freshman star Cole Aylaian finished the game strong with a nail biting 6-3, 3-6, 12-10 win. As the only freshman on varsity who won, Aylaian gives the boys’ tennis team a promising future. Hanley agreed, “He managed to bring his guy to the net and force a weak shot, then follow it up with a passing shot to win the point and his game. It was great to see him make great plays as he’s had so little time to prepare for what high school tennis is like.”
As the season ramps up, the team will look forward to another successful season as they are currently the 4th best team in PAL. “I’m looking forward to the PAL individual tournament at the end of the season,” said Novak.
Boys tennis will return to the courts to play the San Mateo Bearcats on Monday, April 3.
