After finding success on the basketball court this season, 2 players continued on from the hardwood to excel on the tennis court. Even though both players just joined the team this year, they both found immediate success in tennis in different ways.
Essentially brand new to the sport, only having played a couple of times recreationally, freshman doubles player, Nathan L. came onto the tennis team because he was looking for another sport to play in the spring.
On the other hand, sophomore Chris L. picked up tennis again after a 6 year break, as he comes from a family of tennis players—with two sisters who won 1st place in doubles while at Galileo. Chris decided to get back into tennis because he was looking to continue the family tradition.
“Both of them are great players, it’s amazing since they joined just this year,” said Coach Donald Simms, adding, “Chris has definitely proven himself to be a fierce competitor and Nathan is very strong as a freshman.”
The peak of the season for Nathan was during the All-City novice division, when he partnered with fellow freshman Cole B. to take home bronze. The pair started off with a win against Burton, but lost to Lincoln in the semi-finals, before beating Balboa to win the bronze.
When asked about his thoughts on winning the bronze, Nathan said, “It was unexpected and I didn’t think we would make it this far, but it feels great to have improved with my partner this season.” He then added, “I’m looking forward to getting better at tennis and meeting new people in future years.”
While Nathan made slow and steady improvements throughout the season, Chris had a meteoric rise to become the top ranked player on the team as he relearned and refined his skills. He started out on the 2nd doubles team, but then built his motivation to start playing singles towards the end of the season. Following the annual reranking of players, Chris came out as boys tennis’ top player after playing for 3 months.
Although his season didn’t finish the way he wanted, losing in the 2nd round of the all city varsity tournament, Chris is determined to come back strong next year.
He said “[My plan is to] Work hard and take it seriously so hopefully that will get me far,” adding, “I felt a bit rushed and behind after only playing 3 months, but I have to keep preparing for next season so I’m able to play against people who have been playing their whole lives.”
“They’re just starting up, but they are looking to become the future of Galileo tennis,” said Coach Simms, expressing his excitement.
Their success on the tennis court followed a successful basketball season as Nathan helped the boys F/S basketball team win the Frosh/Soph AAA Championship, while Chris played a key role for the varsity team that made it to the semi finals.
With both players having at least 2 more years ahead of them in high school, they both plan on continuing to play both sports, hoping to continue to improve and add to their success.
