After marquee wins over Mason, Upper Arlington, and Toledo St. Johns, the Varsity Gold tennis team now sits in first place in the Ohio Coaches Tennis Association (OCTA) team rankings.

The first of five weekly polls was released on Apr. 22. Mason, Upper Arlington, and Toledo St. Johns hold the second through fourth positions respectively.

“We are definitely happy that we are one in the state, but now we have to hold it for the rest of the season. This means we have to keep playing our best at every match,” said Nakul Narendran, 11.

The team will compete against Greater Miami Conference (GMC) foes Lakota West and Oak Hills at home before competing in the Greater Cincinnati Tennis Coaches Association (GCTCA) Coaches Classic tournament.

“I like playing in the Coaches Classic because we get a taste of all the best teams in the city, and it provides a good measure as to how we stack up against them,” said Noah Stern, 9.

The new tennis courts are also set to be completed within the next couple of days due to the predicted weather forecast, which means that all home matches will be played at SHS instead of Mount Notre Dame.

“Our new courts are going to be amazing. No more driving twenty minutes just to play a home match,” said Alex Taylor, 10.

Check out aves10s.net and follow Coach Mike Teets on Twitter (@aves10s) for up to date information on the Varsity Gold, Green, and Junior Varsity teams.