As the weather drastically improved on March 2, the UHS Boys’ Varsity Tennis team also scored a beautiful win against Sage Hill. The final score was 16-2. 

Sage Hill Athletics has a reputation for being one of the best and toughest opponents to go against. However, the Trojans put on an exhilarating match against the strong team and ultimately gained a high-margin victory. 

“Our tennis team has the best players overall out of any team,” senior Anirudh Gupta said. “We have good team chemistry, and we all get along really well.”

With this game being one of the most anticipated matchups of the year, both teams did not disappoint. The match itself was full of highlights and excitement, but none of the highlights were bigger than the Trojans defeating Sage Hill’s best singles player. 

“A highlight from [the match] was beating Sage Hill’s number one singles player, as it gave UNI momentum straight from the start,” senior James MacDonald said.

Although UHS walked away with the victory, Sage Hill put on a great fight. Over on the doubles side, Sage Hill’s players worked very well together in calling the ball, taking responsibility for hitting the ball and predicting where the ball was heading.

“Sage Hill is a strong opponent,” MacDonald said. “Their strengths were definitely their doubles, especially their number one doubles team.”

On the singles side, UHS scored a wider margin, fighting very hard as demonstrated by the final scores. On the first and second courts, the final scores were 1-4 and 0-4 respectively, both in favor of the Trojans.

“I thought I did well sweeping my singles sets in a routine fashion,” junior SangHyuk Im said. “It’s always great to have high school tennis practices that are at a higher level.” 

This tennis match was exciting as the energy level was amped up due to both teams’ determined desires to win. The excitement from both the crowd and the players was vibrant and lively despite the clamoring resulting from the neighboring track and field meet that featured four schools.

Overall, boys’ tennis was able to thrive in the high-stakes environment. All of the players contributed to the team with their own unparalleled set of skills. At the end of the day, not only did the team pick up the victory, but they also extended their undefeated league streak.