This year the Aragon boys varsity tennis team went further than it had in a couple of years; it successfully reached the first round of CCS. The team had placed third in the Peninsula Athletic League in Division I, and this qualified the team for CCS. “It was really exciting and different, being able to go to CCS,” commented sophomore Devon Hughes, who was also on the team last year. The first three singles and all three doubles teams played in a sort of round robin type of match for CCS.
The Aragon boys varsity tennis team played fourteen matches in its league, and this year it won ten of the matches and lost only four. “There was only one player that I did not beat at least once,” Hughes disclosed. The team continued its long winning streak over Mills; it has now beaten the Mills boys varsity tennis team in a total of 18 matches. This is hardly any surprise, considering that many players on the Varsity tennis team practice all year round.
One of the most exciting matches of the year was the first playoff match in the league against Burlingame High School. The game determined whether or not Aragon’s boys varsity team would to the PAL finals against Carlmont, and came down to three matches that all went to three sets. The team won at the number three singles, with a winning score of four to three. “It made me feel really proud of our team and Isaac, who was playing number three, because it was an extremely important win for us. It showed that even though our team is young, and some might say inexperienced, we still had the fight and the mental ability to win,” commented junior Rahul Joshi. The tryouts for the boys’ varsity tennis team were at the end of February, and practices started in the beginning of March. Practices continued for about three months until the season ended with the one game for CCS. The team met every day after school ended and practiced until about five o’clock.
The boys varsity team consists of 10 people, which is almost half the size of the boys’ frosh/soph tennis team. Thus, all of the players get to know each other fairly well. “I think the team was very well bonded this season and it was extremely fun to be a part of the team,” said Joshi. There was a lot of incoming freshmen on the varsity team, taking the several spots vacated by the seniors last year.
Dave Owdom, the coach of the boys varsity team, has been with the Aragon team for eight years now. “He is extremely supportive,” reported Hughes. Joshi agreed, adding, “He focuses a lot on the mental aspect of the game, which is extremely important for lots of players.”
Not only was Owdom very supportive of the tennis players on varsity, but they all supported each other. “I really like being around other people who like my sport,” Hughes said. Especially as several of the players were on the team last year, the team was pretty close. Even singles players like Hughes and Joshi always had their fellow teammates boosting them up from the sidelines. Joshi related, “Everyone wants to win, and we have each other’s backs.”
