Tennis nets win

The boys' tennis team defeated its divisional Paint Branch High School opponents on Apr 15, seizing the meet 7-0.

Although the team's win improved its record to a perfect 4-0, its winning streak was ended by a narrow division loss to Quince Orchard High School on Apr 17, 4-3.

Coach David Ngbea admitted that the Blazers' championship prospects are unlikely after their loss but added that the team has what it takes to advance far in Counties. But the first step to triumph, according to Ngbea, is a victory in the next divisional match against Springbrook High School on Apr 26.

Against Paint Branch, senior co-captain James Phillips' low riding, topspin forehands, along with his net game, sealed his 6-0, 6-1 victory against his opponent from the start.

First singles player sophomore Michael Price's solid ground strokes and consecutive aces earned him an equally satisfying 6-1, 6-0 victory.

Despite Price's win, coach David Ngbea cited the player's toss as one area needing improvement. "[Price] isn't serving well because of his toss," he commented. "The toss is too low so it prevents him from reaching up, which would make you catch the ball at the apex. If he keeps hitting the ball straight on, [the ball] will go straight, and by the time it hits the court, it will be out."

In the doubles arena, freshman Edward Halabi's masterful overheads and sharply punched volleys sparked the first applause this season from an awed crowd, while partner junior Lella Alemu's speedy serves produced several aces to leave the duo with an applaudable 6-0, 6-2 victory.

Although the pair only gave up two games, Ngbea said that the cause of their losses, too many balls going out, could have been easily avoided. "Every point [Halabi and Alemu] lost was because they were over-swinging," he said. "We just need to place the ball and use our brains. For some reason, they want to just hit hard."

But on the second doubles court, power was a plus. Junior Ji-Heon Kim smacked down four consecutive overheads with such force that the balls jumped over the fence beyond his opponents' reach while partner sophomore Kevin Chai balanced out Kim's tactics by hitting smooth ground strokes that proved to be effective in seizing the match 6-2, 6-0.

Kim noted that his opponents' poor placement skills in addition to the absence of errors on his side of the court guaranteed a victory. "[My opponents] just hit the ball to us instead of cross-court, so we had easy volleys and overheads," he said. "We were just consistent overall; we didn't hit balls out much or double fault."