Boys Tennis

Serving up con dence

A team led by seniors, a chance for freshmen to learn

Abby Miller milleabi002@hsestudents.org

Boy tennis is currently 11-1 throughout team competition

There are three singles matches and two doubles matches per team competition.

The second doubles team is undefeatd this season.

Seniors Logan Kay and Nathan Simkins charge the net during a point against Je ersonville at the North Central Invatational on Aug. 29. Photo by Abby Miller.

Boys tennis is in full swing, and they have had a successful start to the had to shi the lineup,” Kay said. It’s just been hard because I normally play doubles, so now Simkins believes that enjoying the sport is the key to success. For him, playing a match with his season. ey were ranked eighth in the state at the beginning of the season and have won their rst six matches. With a team led by seniors, con dence has played a role in their success. “I feel way more con dent because now I know all the people [from other teams] that I have been playing [against] for four years,” senior Nathan Simkins said. “I really go in with a lot of con dence.” Senior Logan Kay said that putting in work over the past four years has also made him feel a lot more con dent. Nevertheless, there were still some challenges in the beginning of the season. “ e rst couple of weeks, a couple of our players have been injured or sick and so we have I have to adjust and I’ve been playing a little bit of singles.” With ve of the seven varsity players being seniors, the team has a lot of collective experience. However, for the younger athletes like freshman Aidan Foley, playing varsity is an opportunity to gain experience. “I was a little nervous, but it was fun,” Foley said. “I get a lot more experience and then when I’m older, I will get less nervous.” For Foley, being on a team with so many seniors has helped him. Especially senior Drew Barker. “At the beginning of the season, he was really supportive of me,” Foley said. “We were originally going to be doubles partners, but we weren’t. He’s usually super supportive.” teammates is what makes it fun. Sometimes, as an underclassman, there may be a little bit more stress,” Simkins said. “I would just say relax.” On Aug. 28, seniors Andrew Leonard and Drew Barker placed rst in the second doubles division at the North Central Invitational. Some advice that Leonard would give the underclassmen is to stop comparing themselves to others. “It’s very inaccurate because they might not enjoy it quite as much and they won’t work as hard.” Leonard said. “Where you are now doesn’t de ne where you could nish.” e team will be back on the court to play Cathedral at Fishers on Sept. 21, at 5 p.m.