The Dougherty Valley men’s tennis team lost the majority of their senior starting lineup this year, which threw a wrench in their aim of withstanding the tough competition among East Bay Athletic League (EBAL) schools.
“We’re majorly screwed this season,” said number one seed junior Aiden Park. “We did get a few good players but we lost basically our entire starting lineup.”
The historically decorated team has racked up multiple NCS, NorCal, and CIF appearances in the last decade, but has been on the decline in recent years. Still, following their results from the 2022-2023 season, the team has high hopes for the upcoming season.
“Last year we technically got top four in the league,” Park said. “We were really close to the top three, so I think that would be a good goal for this season.”
This is no easy task, however. The Bay Area is host to some of the state’s toughest tennis competition, with many Division I commits coming from the EBAL. But the graduating class of 2023 didn’t only impact DVHS, with other schools going through similar transitions.
“I know Cal High hasn’t lost anyone, so their team got better. I think San Ramon Valley now has a really good player,” described Park. “Foothill lost a lot of their players and Amador [Valley] lost their number one.”
Even with many changes to both their own team and the competition, they have high expectations. Working towards these goals, the team practices vigorously in order to improve.
“We practice as a team four times a week and I practice one time myself,” described senior Asher Yang. “Our practice is spent playing matches against our teammates and swapping opponents according to the outcome of each match. We practice both drills to refine our skills and matches to develop our actual play.”
Another important factor is one of leadership. As the team’s top player, Park must take charge in order to uplift others on the team.
“I do my best to cheer them on during matches and help them improve,” said Park. “There’s a lot of competitive teams out there, and it’s important we maintain sportsmanship and really put our hearts out there.”
Yang shared a similar sentiment. “To me, the most important thing to becoming a good tennis player is discipline and patience. It allows us to work hard and keep our heads up even when times are tough,” he said.
But with such a young team, there are many uncertainties. Many freshman players lack the experience veterans like Park have, and thus may find certain obstacles more difficult in a competitive environment.
“I see a lot of potential in some of the new players,” Park explained. “But it really comes down to work ethic. I think in anything, it really comes down to how much pain you’re willing to go through. And that’s what separates the best from the rest.”
With the spring sports season finally kicking off, you track the men’s tennis progress with their next match on March 26th in their games against Livermore High.
