Rowen L. (Melanie Q./Staff)
Coming in hot with five wins and one loss, the boys tennis team remains first in the Central Buckeye League with an 11-3 record and a 79% win rate.
The boys welcomed Buckeye Valley on Tuesday, April 23, to celebrate Senior Night. After honoring Aanav K. and Tanner S. for their contributions to the program, the Vikings swept the Barons 5-0. The two seniors played first doubles, winning 6-0, 6-0. First, second, and third singles played by Lucas X., Jacob K., and Rowen L., respectively, followed suit with 6-0, 6-0 victories. Second doubles duo Sarthak A. and Saurav M. secured the final court with 6-1, 6-0.
The following day, the team traveled to Olentangy for a tougher battle. To secure the first two victories, Jayden T. won second singles (6-3, 6-1), while Rowen and Lucas eased past the Braves in first doubles (6-0, 6-1). In third singles, Bennett K. lost the first set (2-6), won the second in a tiebreaker (7-6), and clinched the third (1-0) to deliver a 3-2 team win.
After a close call, the Vikings traveled to Grandview Heights, then to Findlay, rebounding with 5-0 clean sweeps on both days. On Thursday, April 25, Jacob (6-1, 6-0), Sujay B. (6-0, 6-1), and Bennett (6-3, 6-1) played first, second, and third singles, respectively, against the Bobcats. Doubles pair Rowen and Lucas (6-0, 6-0), along with Ian and Nason (6-1, 6-0), dominated their opponents as well. Against Findlay on Friday, April 26, Jacob won a decisive 6-0, 6-0 match in first singles. Ian and Sarthak followed suit in second and third singles with scores of 6-0, 6-1 and 6-1, 6-1, respectively. Once again finishing 5-0, Rowen and Lucas blew out the Trojans in first doubles (6-1, 6-1), while Sujay and Jayden nabbed a 6-1, 6-2 victory in second doubles.
Saturday, April 27, displayed mixed results for the Vikings as they traveled to Ottawa Hills at noon, then to St. John’s Jesuit at 4:00 p.m. for a doubleheader. Doubles pair Jacob and Rowen (6-0, 6-2), plus Sujay and Jayden (6-0, 6-0), snagged the first two wins against Ottawa. Lucas secured a victory in first singles (6-2, 6-0) to round off the morning. The Vikings were less fortunate against St. John’s Jesuit, with Lucas in first singles (6-3, 6-0), along with Ian and Jacob in first doubles (6-4, 6-4) prevailing. The other courts lost in tiebreaker sets, ending in a 2-3 team defeat.
Looking ahead, the Vikings travel to Olentangy Orange on Wednesday, May 1, Dublin Coffman on Thursday, May 2, and Upper Arlington on Friday, May 3, for their final week before postseason matches begin!
