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Zimo Xie

GROUP DEMO. Coach Luke Elifson demonstrates a forehand shot to the singles players at the Baseline Tennis Courts during practice. After taking a water-break, Elifson calls all the players on the left side of the court to the center to give them a demonstration on the correct form for hitting.

The snow is melting, the birds are chirping, and as spring comes along, so does the start of the season for Spartan boys tennis.

Tennis practices started the second week of spring break, and the dreary weather had kept the team indoors until recently. Captain Maik Nguyen said, “A lot of the team is used to playing indoors, especially at the Baseline Facility. The transition from indoors to outdoors is very, very hard because the courts are different textures, so that makes the ball change slightly. And then there’s also the sun, the wind, and all these factors go into putting you off, and you can’t let that shake you.”

Despite the difficult transition, the tennis team continues to push forward, feeling the pressure to perform well after last year’s win at the state championships. Captain Baasit Mahmood said, “All the returners have gotten a ton better since last year, and it goes back to trusting your game. But I think right now, everyone has a certain level of confidence that they didn’t have last year, and I think that’s going to help us in the long run.”

The team has been working on their techniques and skills at split practices, with coach Luke Elifson observing their moves closely and instructing them on improving. Elifson has been coaching tennis since high school and became the head coach for the Spartans in 2022. After winning state last year with the team, Elifson recognizes that there will be more expectations and responsibilities that the players may feel this year. However, he still wishes for the players to have fun.

Looking at the team this year, Humza Murad, a swing player, said, “The tennis team is incredibly young. There are zero seniors on the varsity team and two seniors on the JV team. The team also has a seventh grader, two eighth graders, a couple of freshmen and sophomores, and a ton of juniors. So it’s a very young team, which shows they’ll probably win state for a couple of years in a row.”

As a swing player, Murad plays for both JV and varsity, and a big difference he noticed between the two teams is the intensity of their training. “A lot of the JV kids are still really new, and they’re not competing as much, so there’s definitely a massive skill gap between the top players on JV and everyone else,” Murad said.

Although the team has players coming from various grades, they all work vigorously together on the court, maintaining solid communication and giving out encouraging comments to each other during practices and matches.

Captain Leo Benson said, “The courts around you and your teammates have a big effect on your court. So if you’re not playing very well, getting that support from other courts can really elevate your game and vice versa if you’re not playing very well. You can elevate other people and even yourself by just supporting your teammates.”

The players focus on the court, but there is also plenty of laughter and jokes after scrimmages. Everyone on the team shares a common love for tennis, and by the end of spring, the team might just find themselves at the state championships once again.

Their next match, against Providence Academy takes place May 2 at 4 p.m. at Providence.