Quads are never fun, but the boys JV tennis team showed no signs of struggle for their first head-to-head of the season on August 16.

The team this year consists of mostly underclassmen, making their showing at the Jenison Quad especially impressive. The boys finished in second place, beating out both FHE and Thornapple Kellogg. The very next day, they were able to carry that winning energy into their matches against East Kentwood. All five doubles teams played at their best and proved it by sweeping East Kentwood 5-0. These two outstanding performances to begin their season are only a glimpse at the young talent the team has to offer this fall.

Unfortunately, the team couldn’t execute the same results against West Ottawa or Portage Central later on. The boys fell just short in both matches, with overall results being 5-7 and 5-7. Oftentimes, one consequence of having so much new blood on the team is that it’s difficult to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

Sophomore Sawyer Jordan emphasizes this, stating, “We had a lot of close games with those teams, but honestly I think it’s mostly about figuring out how to play with our new teammates this year. There are a lot of new people that we don’t know a lot about, so we still have to figure out how to pair people up best.”

Unlike varsity tennis, which has four singles and doubles flights, JV consists of five doubles flights. Since the team is completely based on partnership and teamwork, the importance of these two things is heightened. However, thanks to the grueling two-hour practices after school every day, the boys are becoming more familiar with one another. Those hours put in will only improve teamwork and compatibility among the boys.

With eight more matches to go, the boys are ready for a continuance of last fall’s stellar season. Number one ranked doubles player junior Keaton Michalski notes, “I’m very excited to be playing again, and hopefully I can make some improvements this year.”

That rings true for the entire team, and they have certainly proven themselves as a force to be reckoned with so far as the team is hoping to add another win to their record; the team faces off against Byron Center on Wednesday, August 31, at home.