Tennis squad sets goals for new season

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Tracy High senior Eric Louwerens plays Kimball at the team’s match on March 14.

Jessica Ballardo, Staff Reporter

We want the boys to have fun, improve their tennis skills, and want to come back the following years

— Patrick O'Brien

The boys’ tennis team placed third in league last year and lost in the first round of the playoffs. Their new season recently began and the team has set goals for itself as the season progresses.

“We have 32 boys on the team,” coach Patrick O’Brien said. “All of the top 12 are returning players with the exception of freshman Ethan Brown.”

“We have 13 new players this year,” O’Brien said “Most of them will need a season to get better to break into the top 12.”

The top singles players are Josh Boehm, Jashdeep Dhillon, and Eric Louwerens.

“My goal is to be the number one singles player and to be a good captain,” senior Louwerens said.

“We have the same goals every year,” O’Brien said “We want the boys to have fun, improve their tennis skills, and want to come back the following years.”

Most of the boys on the team go on to play all four years.

“I’ve been on the team since freshman year,” Louwerens said. “I’ve been playing tennis for about six years, though.”

“I’ve played since freshman year,” junior Amal Thonmil said. “My main goal is to get better at singles play.”

The mental aspect of the game is just as important as the physical aspect.

“I need to work on keeping a good attitude and not getting frustrated with myself,” Thonmil said.

The team has many challenges ahead of them, but they hope to overcome them by maintaining a good attitude and improving its skills.

“Our biggest challenge this year will definitely be Lincoln,” O’Brien said, “but as long as the boys do their best, we will be fine with the result.”

The team will travel to West High School for its next match on April 5, at 3:30 p.m.