On April 11, Bonita Vista High’s (BVH) boys’ tennis team made a comeback with their tennis rackets against Olympian High School’s (OHS) boys’ tennis team. A crowd of BVH and ORH students and parents swarmed around BVH’s tennis court fence to eagerly watch the match.  

BVH led with a triumphant start during the first round out of three, both from playing single players and double players. This was not the first time BVH and OHS faced off during this tennis season, with BVH winning the last encounter 14-4. Throughout the first round, BVH boys’ tennis captain and senior Sam Evans shared his experiences playing against OHS recently this season.

“I think we expected to win. We beat Olympian earlier this year and we beat them twice last year, so we feel pretty good about today’s game,” Evans said. 

Today’s match was not just a normal match but it was also boys’ tennis senior night. While the rest of the players such as freshmen, sophomores and juniors, stayed outside of the tennis courts, BVH’s seniors play their hardest since it is one of their last games for the remainder of their high school career. Doubles’ player, captain and senior Miles Tobitt shared what his main goal for the match was.

“Obviously you want to win as much as you can, but with it being senior night–one of our last matches–I want to really soak it in and enjoy it while it lasts since I’m not going to be here next year,” Tobitt said.

BVH’s boys’ varsity tennis coach Liza Tacher has been teaching boys’ tennis roughly six to seven years. With that experience in mind, not only does Tobitt have a goal to reach for the match, but Tacher as well.

“One of the goals was for the seniors to play three sets and that goal was accomplished so I only have seniors playing this line up. Our main goal is to win, but the ultimate goal today is to have a good experience [and] to have fun,” Tacher said.

Heading towards the second round, Tacher’s first goal—having seniors playing three sets—was accomplished. During one of the matches, both Tobitt and Evans play doubles runs towards the ball to make a comeback, leading them with another winning point. Tobitt shares what he has learned from his experience while playing tennis at BVH.

“When we play doubles, it teaches teamwork and communication, but also patience; with yourself but your partner and your team at times,” Tobitts said. “[I’ve learned] to do your best even when others may not be doing their best or when you’re not at your best and knowing that you’ve got it, just give it time.”

Playing tennis could lead to learning many new things, but when playing, players grow to have more expectations for upcoming games. Tobitt shares what his expectations are for his next upcoming matches.

“Usually when we play Olympian, we do pretty well, but regardless of who we play, my expectations are always ‘We’re going to do our best,’ whether we win or lose. No matter who we play, I go out and do my best,” Tobitt said.

As round two comes to an end, both BVH and OHS strike for another winning score of 8-2. BVH tennis players reach for water and return to pushing their hardest to win the second round. As the game goes on Evans explains why he had initially joined BVH’s boys’ tennis team.

“I knew a lot of guys that were going to play [boys’ tennis] like [my friend] William Maywood, so I was excited to play [tennis] with them,” Evans said.

The match comes to an ending score of 13 out of 5 against OHS. As Tobitt and Evans make a score against the opposing team, they share a quick high-five right before adjusting the score in order to know who’s winning. The players head towards Tacher to share the ending score of their last round, resulting in BVH’s win for the last game of their regular season.

“I love it [being captain]. I like the leadership role. There’s a lot of great guys on the team and I like that position, being able to lead them and be in charge,”  Tobitt said. “But we’re all a team, everyone’s a part of it. So even though we’re captains we’re just as much part of the team as everyone else.”