After a good effort at the State Championships, the men’s tennis team’s season came to on end April 27.
Head coach Alvin Kim is proud of the men’s tennis team’s effort at the State Championships along with the energy it brought to the court throughout the entire season.
“State is always hard,” Kim said. “I felt like we played as hard as we could.”
The men’s tennis team’s season came to a close Saturday, April 27 when freshman Nathan Eshmade lost in the semifinals at the Ojai Valley Athletic Club.
“We were pretty focused but the practice and preparation is what killed us,” said freshman Mathew Espiritu, who teamed with Eshmade in doubles competition throughout the season. “I feel that’s what made the difference in the win and the loss.”
Sophomore Todd Jenkins added, “Overall we could have done better. Personally I had an off day. As a team our doubles team and singles player got far considering the opponents they went up against.”
Jenkins wishes he had another chance because he will be leaving the team after this season.
“I wish I could do this all again since this is my last year,” he said. “It was a pretty solid team this year but there’s only two guys leaving … so the team will pretty much be the same. Not to mention the newcomers for next year.”
The team finishes the season at .500 with a record of 11-11, a record Kim believes will fuel the fire for next season.
“We’re motivated to do better in terms of wins and losses,” he said. “We had a pretty mediocre record but we want to do better and especially do better in our state rankings.”
Despite the record that the team finished with, Kim is satisfied with the effort the team had during the season along with the togetherness the team had.
“We did okay. There’s more to just winning and losing,” he added. “We did really well as a team. Out of all the teams we had, this is one of the most special teams where everyone gets along. Everyone likes each other.”
Espiritu notes that the season’s ups and downs serve as a lesson for next season.
“From what I’ve learned from this season is that a lot of preparation and a lot of hard work makes a difference.”
Jenkins added, “There’s a lot room for improvement and I’m pretty sure if the team puts (its) mind to it, (it) can do it.”
