During the regular season, the girls’ and boys’ tennis teams lost only one match each. 

The girls were undefeated for the first nine matches of the season until April 20, when they lost 3-2 against Kinkaid. As a result, they did not make it to the Southwest Preparatory Conference championship this year.

“The Kinkaid match could have gone either way,” said Jose DeMoura, head coach of the girls’ tennis team. “Even though we lost, we still had a great season.”

According to senior and co-captain Hannah Chang, this year’s team had more freshmen than usual. 

“Our team is very close-knit and has bonded so much,” senior co-captain Isabella O’Reilly said. “We always push each other to do our best during practices and cheer for each other during matches.” 

According to senior George Caldwell, one of the captains of the boys’ tennis team, they also had a successful season.

The boys’ team was undefeated for their first eight matches. On April 19, however, they lost their streak after losing 3-2 to John Cooper. Despite this loss, the boys’ team was still named South Zone champion and qualified for the SPC Championship.

On May first, the boys’ team played against St. Mark’s in the SPC finals. They lost 3-2, leaving the Mavericks as runner up to end the season.

According to Steve Gleaves, coach of the boys’ tennis team, the players are committed to the team — they always encourage each other to do their best in every practice and match.

“We have a very strong and passionate team this year,” Caldwell said. “There’s not much difference in talent between our top singles players and our lower doubles players.” 

This year, SPC made a few changes to their tournament in order to accommodate for COVID-19 safety measures.

Normally, SPC hosts a tournament in which almost every school in the area participates. This year, SPC is hosting a smaller event, where the champions of the North Zone and the South Zone will play against each other in one final match to determine an SPC winner.

In spring of 2020, the girls’ and boys’ tennis teams were on pace to win SPC. When the pandemic hit, however, SPC was cancelled, and both teams lost the opportunity to claim the winning title. 

“We were favored to win the final tournament last year,” Chang said. “When it got cancelled due to COVID, everyone on the team was bummed, especially since we had such a good and enthusiastic team.”

Gleaves says that this season has been fun, even with the COVID-19 protocols in place.

“Our goal is always to work hard and play hard,” Gleaves said. “To watch the players get out there, get moving, be consistent and try their best is all you can really ask for as a coach.”