The boys tennis team began its season with seven consecutive wins. The program is ranked second in the nation in the Pre-Season Universal Tennis High School Boys National Team Rankings based on last year’s sucess.

Last season, the team beat top-ranked team University High School Charter to win the school’s first CIF Southern Section Open Division title. 

Singles player Andrew Arkow ’23 said the team is looking to repeat last year’s success this season. 

“Obviously, last season the team played great, allowing us to win many games in the playoffs and regular season,” Arkow said. “We hope to defend our CIF Southern Section Open Division title and our CIF Regional title.”

Doubles player Avi Carson ’22 said he believes the team will have a strong season despite the pressure he said they feel playing for the program. 

“As a historically powerhouse program, we always feel pressure to go far and possibly win CIF,” Carson said. “Since I joined the team in my freshman year, we have always made a deep run in the playoffs, and I do not expect this year to be any different.”

Carson said many people do not expect the team to be successful this season compared to last season, but this expectation has not changed the mentality.

“We have kind of been written off by many people this year after losing four of our top guys in the offseason,” Carson said. “People don’t expect us to go as far, but we hold ourselves to the same standard of championship-caliber performance every game and practice. The biggest thing we need to focus on is perfecting our doubles teams, as we understand the importance of having really strong doubles teams.”

After losing two straight games following a 7-0 start to the season, singles and doubles player Justin Lee ’22 said everyone has aspects of the game that they can improve on, and he has spent the offseason perfecting his own. 

“Even with all the success last season, there is room for improvement for everyone, such as bringing as much positive energy to every match as possible,” Lee said. “Personally, I took the time to hone my serve and sharpen my footwork in singles and doubles.”

Singles player Teddy Ingold ’24 said the team’s senior leadership set a strong example of how hard the team needs to work in order to recover from recent losses.  

“After the two losses, our seniors have set an excellent example for us on how we should carry ourselves in practice by demonstrating their ferociousness and dedication to the sport even after losing,” Ingold said. “We are practicing with a greater intensity and focus, and I believe that will translate to continuing our winning culture.”

Boys Tennis Program Head Bo Hardt said he expects the team to improve after recent defeats. 

“Losing is the best thing to happen for this team, which needed a wake-up call,” Hardt said. “I want [our players] to improve every day to be way better than we were to begin the season in order to make the CIF finals and CIF regional [championship].”