Name: William Wen
Sport: Boys varsity tennis
Grade: Junior
How long have you been playing tennis?
“This is my fifth year playing the sport, but the first time I held a racket was well before that. I say that this is only my fifth year because before the summer of going into sixth grade, playing tennis was far from what we did. My friends and I would invent our own games, and one of them simply was just “hit the ball as far as you can.” Sounds familiar right?”
What other sports do you play at FHC?
“Although I don’t play hockey for FHC, hockey was my entire childhood, as I started playing when I was three. Unfortunately, my mom pulled me out of the sport when I was twelve because that was the age when getting physical on the ice was allowed. I also enjoy skiing during the winter, so I joined the ski team last year, but I found out the sport itself isn’t really for me. Trust me when I say it, but it’s a lot harder than it looks.”
What is your best memory from your time playing?
“Definitely has to be my win against Mattawan last year at three singles. The dude I played didn’t lose a single match until I beat him that day, and he never lost another match after that and went on to win states. Although he beat me the next time we played, I still got that one win off him and stopped his perfect record.”
Who is your favorite professional athlete?
“I usually side with whoever has the best statistics. Originally, it was Federer until he retired, but now it’s Djokovic. I always side with the better player because I want to see just how far they can push their limits. Djokovic is currently at 23 grand slams, but I’m curious to see how many more he can win considering that he’s getting old.”
What is your favorite class this year and why?
“Since I already took calc last year, I’m taking the next calculus course at Calvin, and so far, it has been my favorite. First off, the class is only three days a week, which gives me a free hour at school to finish whatever work I need to finish, or I can just head home an hour early. The professor gets straight to the point in his lectures, and it’s really easy to follow along.”
Do you have any superstitions associated with your games?
“Before I serve, I bounce the ball at least twice (most players bounce it way more than that).”
What are the strengths of this year’s team?
“One of our strengths is our team chemistry. All of our doubles players get along very well, and we’re all very supportive of each other. Speaking of raw skill, We kept almost all of our doubles players from last year and had some new talent come up to replace the graduated players. We definitely have what it takes to compete with the best. I feel like our 2 doubles, 4 doubles, and 3 singles flights are doing really well at the moment, and I believe that they can make a deep run in the state tournament or even win it all.”
What are your individual goals for this season?
“Since I am playing one singles this year, I’m not going in with high expectations as I’m playing some of the best players in the state ranked much much higher than me. But my main goal for this year is to get a groove of how some of these players play, get some experience under my belt, and just make mistakes so I can learn from them this year, which will allow me to come back better next year.”
