After a long, relaxing spring break, the boys’ tennis team quickly ramped up with tryouts and practices, soon after their official spring season started. Sam Leslie ‘24, one of four captains this year, describes his anticipation, noting, “I definitely feel very excited about the upcoming season. I’m interested to see how the season will progress.”
In 2021, the team lost in the section finals to Edina, their longtime rival. Their last state title was won in 2018 (defeating Rochester Century in their first year in class AA). The year after that, they also fell to Edina in the section finals.
The team also suffered a major loss this year, losing seven seniors, including their number one singles and doubles players, who “were definitely pillars for the culture of our team,” says Leslie. With the loss of numerous seniors, the team took in five fresh faces to fill their places, all of them being on the younger side. Leslie states, “with the loss of a large group of seniors the readjustment as a whole could seem polarizing. However, the team has been very adaptable and has fit well. I definitely love the cross-grade lines the team fosters as there is camaraderie for grade gaps of 3 or more.” Will Mairs ‘23, a junior captain, adds, “I feel pretty good about the team dynamic this year, I already know some of the newer players just because they play in groups and stuff, so I feel good about the connections so far…It’s more just about figuring out the lineup and where the new players fit into it.”
Although both captains have high hopes for this season, they acknowledge their impending challenges they will have to face. Mairs elaborates, “Edina is definitely going to be a challenge, every year they’re pretty unreal and we always play them in section finals.” Sai Buddi ‘25, who’s going into his second season, explains, “we lost a whole season because of COVID, so I think missing that was tough…but Orono is also good and is a really strong team, but they’re not in our section.”
Nevertheless, the team remains optimistic and relies on their strong bond and connections in order to carry them far into the season. Leslie claims, “I definitely feel confident about this team, there seems to be good chemistry among kids within it…I think our first goal will be to go to state.” After three years of no state and a season of COVID cancellations in 2020, the boys team is ready to bounce back and begin their long-anticipated season.
