Coming off a solid 5-2 win against San Mateo High School, the Carlmont boys tennis team could not repeat their successes and fell to Menlo-Atherton High School on Tuesday, March 1.
Despite strong efforts from many of the players, the Bears swept the Scots 6-0.
A big problem for the Scots was endurance. Many of the matches ended in close scores, but the Scots were not able to finish any of them off.
“We need to become tougher both mentally and physically. We lost composure at the end, and we need to fix that,” said sophomore Kevin Xiang.
Doubles partners junior Jonathan Li and Xiang had a notably tough loss. The two led the first set 4-1, but lost the next five games. In the second set, the Scots started off strong, leading 5-3, but yet again the Bears came back winning the match 7-5.
The singles matches also had a hard time against the Bears. Coming off a thumb injury, first singles player sophomore Thomas Reznik lost both sets.
“I was really disappointed in how I played,” said Reznik. “I believe that I did not compete to my full potential.”
This is the first year that Dan Nguyen has coached the boys tennis team.
“This year’s team has been great. This squad has a lot of talent and potential. They have been patient with me and I think we can be successful this season,” said Nguyen.
With a new coach, the Scots hope that they can form good team chemistry quickly.
The Scot’s next game is on Thursday. They will take on Woodside High School. This loss makes the Scot’s record 1-1. Still early in the season, the Scots hope they can turn things around.
“We have a lot of potential to do great this year. We have a lot of depth and I think we have a good chance at winning league,” said Li.