The varsity tennis team has made a breakthrough. After five years, the tennis team has finally won the district championships.

This year has been a rollercoaster for the tennis team with numerous accomplishments for the individual players and the team as a whole.    

Head Coach Jenna Clary is extremely proud of all her players and their dedication to the team.

“The team got first place in our district tournament for the first time in a long time,” Clary said. “We also made it to the second round of playoffs, which was also exciting.”

Among the many notable accomplishments, Team Captain Marcus Azuaje is tremendously proud of the team for beating Bellaire.

“We’ve lost to Bellaire every year for the past three years,” Azuaje said. “This year, we didn’t. We all won all of our matches and it made impacts on our team by making us feel accomplished.”

The success of the team so far this year can be attributed to the many beneficial changes that have been made, from team bonding to new leadership.

“This year we have a girls captain and a boys captain and they’ve both been really good at getting the team motivated,” Clary said. 

All members of the team have a strong bond with one another. They have grown over the years to become close-knit and have created amazing friendships which benefits their teamwork. 

“We’re all close,” Azuaje said. “We all have group chats where we just talk to each other about anything and everything. We always try to get together and hit when we can.”

Winning districts benefited the team by giving everyone a boost of confidence that will likely remain with all of the players for future tournaments and games as well.

“Everyone has a different mindset towards winning and just plays better when they know how well they can do,” Team Captain and senior Sasha Jezic said.

Both the coach, captains and teammates are proud of one another and how well they’ve played. 

“What makes me proud of my team is how hard everyone works,” Jezic says. “Everyone always shows up, we get along with each other and we always do the best we can to improve.”

Only the fall season has been completed, so there is still another season left this year and plenty more tournaments for the tennis team to showcase their abilities.

“They’re good kids,” Clary said. “They’re not just good athletes but they’re also good students, citizens, friends, mentors and good peers to each other.”