On the first day of practice, boys tennis team captain Oliver Cho ’25 walked towards the practice vans in the Café Courtyard. Before him, he saw a large group of new freshmen teammates with their rackets out, already bouncing tennis balls and practicing their volleys. He pointed to this moment as his favorite of the season so far. 

“They were ready. That excited me, because I was like, ‘this season is going to be great!’” he said. 

His prediction proved true. So far, the team has a 5-4 match record this season, a significant improvement from last season’s 2-12 record. This season, the team even scored a 5-2 win against The King’s Academy, to which they lost one match 1-6 last year.

Cho primarily credits their newfound success to his four new ninth-grade teammates. “It’s tough when you lose players on varsity, but this year’s freshmen have been very good at filling in the gaps,” he said. 

Beyond an improved defeat rate, this season the tennis team has also welcomed a new coach, Gerald Sargeant. Additionally, the team spirit and attendance dynamics have shifted. 

“I do think people are more motivated to show up. That’s why there’s more attendance, and hopefully that’ll lead to match victories,” shared team member Vian Yang ’26.