Boys’ tennis gaining momentum
The spring boys’ tennis season is just getting started, and Aragon is making great headway in their wins over other schools. Aragon has won three out of four league games so far, only getting beaten by Carlmont 6-1. In the non-league games, Aragon won against Riordan 7-0, but lost against both Serra 1-6, and Palo Alto 2-5. Despite these losses, the Aragon boys’ tennis team has a promising outlook for this year. Coach Dave Owdom says, “We’re doing fairly well this season. We lost five out of six players this year. They were all seniors, but now Chris is the only one left.” Owdom is referring to Chris Engelmann, the number one varsity player on the boys’ tennis team this year.
Owden says, “Singles are tougher to play than doubles physically, and the players tend to blame themselves instead of their partners. Doubles require coordination and communication between players to have a good match.”
Freshman frosh-soph player Travis Kwee says, “[Our outlook for this season is] good, we beat San Mateo and Mills and killed Hillsdale, but didn’t do so well against Carlmont and some of the private schools. Hopefully we will win more of the upcoming games, but you never know.”
Freshman frosh-soph player Alex Furuya says, “It’s hard to tell right now, but I think we’ll be pretty good. The other teams are coached differently, their coaches focus more on aggressive strategy, but I think we’re very well-rounded in our playing.”
The varsity team played against Carlmont on March 29. There were four singles matches and three doubles matches plus one exhibition match. Senior player Chris Engelmann faced off against Carlmont’s Cory Peng. Though Engelmann maintained his strong serve and determination, he lost both sets to Peng. “He was a pretty solid player. He forced me to make mistakes. There’s no excuse over my game today, I could’ve played better,” says Engelmann.
Freshman varsity player Devon Hughes, who played on the court next to Engelmann, held his own, despite the fact that he was up against an upperclassman. Hughes says, “He was really good. He was a lot taller than me, and I had to work harder to get the balls. I lost the second set, but I got through in the tiebreaker [with a final score of] 11-9.”
Even though the players’ demonstrated intense determination and focus in their playing, Aragon lost the match against Carlmont by a score of 6-1.
The varsity team went up against Mills that Thursday, March 31. Aragon has a winning streak against Mills; they have not lost to them in fourteen years. Engelmann won against his opponent in both sets 6-2 and 7-5. Engelmann says, “He was not a very challenging opponent compared to the rest of the league, but he had an interesting style of playing that I have never seen before.”
Hughes won against his opponent as well, opting for more strategy than force. “The first set was simple, but in the second set the game changed, and my opponent began playing better,” says Hughes.
Aragon won against Mills by 5-2, continuing Aragon’s against Mills.
Owden says, “I’ve coached tennis many times in the past, and the main aspect [the players] need to work on is mental toughness. No memory—you have no memory of previous plays—you don’t let it bother you and affect the rest of the match. The team gets confidence from getting better.”
Hughes says, “I think we will win more of the game coming up. It’s hard being number two as a freshman, the juniors and seniors are stronger, but I think I can win more matches. It’s all about having fun.”
