Boys’ JV tennis wins first match on home courts

Joseph Ahn • May 19, 2014

Jack Loon, 9, jumps up for a flat serve down the tee. Loon won his match at third singles with a final score of 6-2, 6-2, securing the team’s 5-0 victory. This was the team’s first legitimate home match of the season. Photo courtesy of Jack Loon.

Although it has been over a month since the beginning of the tennis season, the boys’ teams have only just begun playing their first matches on home courts.

For the JV athletes, this was on Tues., Apr. 29 against the Lakota East Thunderbirds.

“We were ridiculously pumped. We were all praying throughout the day that we wouldn’t be rained out so that we could play on the courts. I’d pass JV people in the halls and everyone would be like ‘we better play today’,” said Rohan Dsouza, 10.

The SHS tennis courts have been under construction since the summer of 2013, and boys’ and girls’ teams alike have been waiting with much anticipation for their release.

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Eight months after the beginning of construction, the courts were announced as being complete.

“The new courts are gorgeous. They make me want to cry. It felt great having our first win here,” said Brandon Lombardi, 11.

The team swept the Thunderbirds on all courts, winning 5-0.

There were many new positions assigned. Jack Loon, 9, playing third singles for the first time, achieved a straight-set victory against his opponent, and Jun Nishikawa, 9, and Yuto Nakahata, 9 were also able to win a fast-paced victory.

Furthermore, the Varsity B tennis team was able to run practice during the JV match thanks to the new addition of a seventh court.

“Usually we have to leave if another team plays, so it was awesome being able to continue practice. Also, we could stay and cheer on the JV team after we were done,” said Nimit Desai, 12.

After the JV match, Varsity A veteran Dylan Stern, 12’, stopped by to take a look at the new courts.

“I’d heard a lot of good things so I came to check them out. They really are looking great,” said Stern.

For more information, go to goaves.com.

About the Contributor

Joseph Ahn, Creative Projects Editor

My name is Joseph Ahn and this is my fourth and final year at SHS. I have worked for The Leaf for four years and I am currently acting as an associate editor and a creative projects editor for The Leaf and The Leaflet. Journalism and design has grown to become one of my passions and I am extremely grateful to the program and to Mrs. Jardine, who is one of the most dedicated teachers I have ever seen in my high school career. The Leaf has given my peers and myself an amazing opportunity to become the voices of over 1200 students. Away from journalism, I dedicate a significant amount of time to my church’s youth group, where I enjoy planning activities as a member of our Youth Leadership Team and leading praise for our English Ministry services. Through my church, I have been able to travel to Hispaniola each summer and build powerful relationships and experiences, which I often write about upon returning to room 115 in July. My most recent focal point in room 115 is “Walk the Wok,” a collaborative and slightly comedic blog in which Brenda Shen and I think about and discuss what it is like for Asian Americans to grow up in Cincinnati, Ohio.