With a resounding 7-0 demolishing of the Los Altos Eagles, Paly’s varsity boys’ tennis team (1-0) is off to a hot start in season play.
On Tuesday, Paly swept its first non-league match of the season against Milpitas High School and continued its exemplarary play against Los Altos. Not one singles player or doubles pair dropped a set for the team’s second consecutivie match, an impressive feat.
Head coach Andy Harader believes that the match against Los Altos is a good indicator of the team’s progress.
“We did better than I thought,” Harader said. “Last year we had a lot of three set matches in doubles but this year it was practically 6-0, 6-0 for all of them. The doubles were really strong.”
The doubles teams had tremendous success as they all triumphed in straight sets. Juniors Jujar Singh and Chase Cooper at No. 3 doubles routed their opponents, 6-1, 6-0.
Singh saw the match as a strong measure of the team’s progress.
“It’s a taste of the rest of the season, this win; hopefully we will continue on this path of victory and take our momentum into the playoffs,” Singh said.
With a convincing 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 1 singles, senior Sam Wong thoroughly dominated his opposition.
Freshman phenom Nicky Hu continued his sizzling play as he subdued his Los Altos counterpart, 6-0, 6-0. Hu has yet to lose a game this year and is making an impressive entrance to the high school tennis scene.
A nagging wrist injury slowed sophomore No. 2 singles player Baramee Wongbanchai. He was the last one off the court but still managed to demolish his opponent, 6-2, 6-3.
“This was a good warm up,” Wongbanchai said. “Because my wrist was sore I had to push the ball and I got a lot of good rallies off that. It was one of my first matches back from an injury so it is good to get ready for our match against Aptos next week.”
Palo Alto faces will Aptos High School at 3:30 p.m. on March 3 at home.
According to Harader, Aptos, a non-league opponent, will be a tough team that should be the first real test for the Vikings and determine their abilities early in the season. With powerful performances up and down the lineup, the Vikings look to carry their momentum and successful start to season play into their match against Aptos.