Boys tennis defeated Notre Dame High School 13-3 on April 21 to win their 32nd Mission League title.
Singles player Gideon Ames ’27 said the team’s history of dominance makes winning league more of an expectation than a triumph, putting them on the right track going into the post-season.
“Winning league is a big deal but it’s also about carrying on the tradition,” Ames said. “We haven’t lost Mission League in over 30 years, so it’s not really significant. It’s more fulfilling expectations. We have the most Mission League titles out of any team at the school, so there is pressure on us to win. We set out goals at the start of the season to win it all, so [winning] is reassurance that we are that team and that we can get to the top.”
Singles player Connor Yang ’27 and doubles players Aaron Chung ’28 and Chase Klugo ’27 will compete in the 124th Annual Ojai Tennis Tournament on April 23-25. The tournament is a prestigious California Interscholastic federation (CIF) sanctioned event for top ranked Southern California high school players. It only accepts one singles player and one doubles team from top high school programs.
Yang said although he acknowledges the importance of the tournament, his preparation will stay consistent.
“The Ojai tournament is very important to me,” Yang said “It’s a pretty big tournament and I’ve been preparing the same way I have been [throughout the season], by practicing a lot.”
Two singles players and two doubles teams will compete in Mission League Individuals on April 27 and April 29. The players and teams who place in the top two in the tournament will qualify for CIF-SS Sectionals Individuals, where they can advance to CIF-SS Individual Championships. Last year, Alex Nickoll ’25 placed first in singles and Ames placed third. Klugo and Christian Stubbeman ’25 placed second in doubles.
Yang, who will play as the school’s number one singles player, said individual settings are more stressful, but he hopes to see the team succeed in the tournament.
“For Mission League Individuals I hope our team can do well,” Yang said. “In the team setting, it’s much more relaxed and fun because you have the whole team behind you, whereas in individual tournaments you are by yourself on the court.”
The team is currently ranked 8th by CIF in Southern California and will begin playoffs on May 8. Last year the team lost to University High School 8-10 in the CIF-SS Open Division finals and 2-5 in the CIF Southern California Regional Championship finals.
Ames said the losses from last season have motivated the team and encouraged a high work ethic.
“This season we know we want to win so badly because we know how it felt to lose,” Ames said. “We have practiced super hard this year and were intense because we know what we want. Likely it will be a rematch against [University High School] in the finals again. In [National High School Championships] and at the All-American Tournament, we played the best teams in the nation, so we’ve prepared ourselves with a lot of matches. There’s nothing more we want than to win it all and get revenge.”
