Eastside Boys Tennis Slaughters Oak Hall 5-2, Looks Ahead To PK Yonge

On Tuesday, March 21st, the Eastside boys tennis team traveled across town to Oak Hall School for a tennis match against Oak Hall’s team. The unscathed garnet and gold tennis courts at the school – financed by Oak Hall families – were a change of setting for the Rams, as this was their first match at these courts this season. The heavy breeze and nearby traffic from Tower Road are a trademark of the courts, but didn’t seem to bother each team as good tennis was played all around. 

 

The Rams were coming off of Spring Break, which marks the halfway point of the tennis season. The team hadn’t had a match since the 15th, when they faced off against Spruce Creek, a team from Port Orange.  Despite the hiatus, the Rams were able to close out the match with a team score of 5-2.

 

Leading the charge for the Rams was number one player Viktor Mai. When asked about the team’s mentality going into the match, Mai emphasized the potential that this team has: “Yeah, there’s really no limit to the money. If we keep putting in work each day, we can definitely be a threat going into states.” Viktor won his singles match 8-1, and he and his doubles partner Bryson Ko won number one doubles with a score of 8-0. Ko is the number two player on the team. His hard-fought match ended with a score of 8-4 in favor of Ko.  

 

At number two doubles, Luis Duterte and Sebastian Jeong lost a tough match to Oak Hall’s second doubles team. Duterte played number three singles for the team, while Daniel Huang played at four singles for the Rams. Duterte played a great match and came out on top at 8-3, and Huang played a good match but lost 4-8. 

 

Only two doubles matches are played in high school team matches, but 5 singles matches are played (with an optional 6th match). At number 5 singles, Detmer Aissing defeated his Oak Hall opponent 8-3. And rounding out the singles lineup for the Rams was Akash Verma, who won his match 8-4. Despite the competitive atmosphere between Verma and his opponent, the two began a conversation about college, and he discovered that his opponent’s mother had attended UPenn, the school Verma is going to for college. You never know when you can network. 

 

To recap, the Rams won the team match 5-2. The Rams’ next match is on Thursday, March 23rd, against PK Yonge. Come out to support at TB McPherson Park.