Boys tennis moves down to lower division

Sophomore Ben Wiederholt hits a forehand during practice. The Eagles hope to win league this year and be CCS competitors.

After an unfortunate past season, the boys varsity tennis team was relegated to the El Camino Division. This year the team hopes for a shot at redemption and has set its goals unwaveringly on a league title.

“We should definitely win league,” Co-Captain senior Charlie Bergevin said. “If we don’t, it would be a disappointment.”

After having completed two weeks of league, the Eagles look well on their way to achieving that goal. In a match against Santa Clara on Thursday, February 25, the Eagles won 7-0.

“We have many good players,” Head Coach Cuong Duong said. “[Against Santa Clara], they all played well, every single player.”

The doubles players on the team are led by pairs seniors Darren Choi and Matthew Hoang and seniors Bryan Cassella and Co-Captain Charlie Falconer. As far as singles, the team is a mix of both under and upperclassmen talent. Junior Justin Koehler is the number one singles player for the Eagles, and Charlie Bergevin holds the number two spot. The team’s number three singles player is freshman Lenoy Avidin, who is one of two freshmen on the team, along with doubles player John Dai. According to Duong, these are just part of an overall “top to bottom solid team.”

“Our team is really deep,” said Duong, who has been the varsity coach since 1995. “I only took 12 players. Normally I take 15 or 16, but I think a smaller, stronger team will be better. Our goal is to definitely win the El Camino [Division] and be right back up there next year.”

This year, the team is also adhering to a new school rule imposed by Principal Wynne Satterwhite that states that tennis teams must weight lift when practices are rained out.

The team will still face difficult tests against several key schools that stand in the way of LAHS claiming the league title, including the Eagle’s rival in Mountain View.

“Mountain View and Cupertino could be tough, but we should beat both of them,” Charlie Bergevin said. “Mountain View flirts between the two leagues, but if we have our full lineup we should win.”

The match against Mountain View was yesterday at LAHS. The Eagles will face Cupertino in an away match on Tuesday, March 23. These two matches could hold the key to the results for the entire season.

In addition to league matches, the team played in the California High School Tennis Classic in Fresno on Friday, March 5 and Saturday, March 6.

No matter the results, the team looks forward to enjoying this year’s season.

“Everyone is going well together,” Lenoy said. “There’s good competition and it’s really fun.”