After a strong start, the boys’ and girls’ tennis teams look to continue with their seasons, with each holding a 7-1 record. So far this season, both teams have played Richard Montgomery (RM), Bethesda Chevy Chase (B-CC), Einstein, John F. Kennedy (JFK) Poolesville, Whitman, Walter Johnson (WJ) and Churchill.

On March 20, the boys’ team had their opening match against Richard Montgomery, where they started the season with a 7-0 win. “The match that went the best was against RM. Everyone played confidently and we won 7-0. It was a great way to start the season and it gave us a lot of confidence looking forward,” senior captain Vikram Reddy said.

The same day, the girls’ team played their first match at Richard Montgomery. The Patriots hit off the season well with a 5-0 win and are feeling good about keeping it up. “This year the dynamic is pretty good and we are definitely more put together than some of the previous years. As a team we are doing more hangouts and bondings,” senior captain Veronica Chunikhin said.

The following Monday, March 23, the Patriots played Bethesda Chevy Chase, resulting in a 5-2 win for the boys and 6-1 win for the girls.

The next few matches were all wins. Both teams earned 7-0 wins over Einstein on March 25 for both teams.Three days later, on March 27, the boys and girls both won against Kennedy with a final score of 6-1 for the boys and 7-0 for the girls. Then, on April 7, the boys and girls won with the same scoreline versus Poolesville. “The best match was probably against JFK or Einstein because they were both very easy teams to beat. We had all of our alternatives play and they all did amazing,” Chunikhin said.

On April 9, the boys team narrowly defeated Whitman.“The closest match we had so far was Whitman, which we won 4-3, and I think we could have done a better job closing out important points at the end. But everyone played well and we’re looking forward to continuing to improve throughout the rest of the season,” Reddy said.

The girls match against Whitman resulted in a 5-2 win. They next played Walter Johnson on April 11. Walter Johnson was another easy win for the girls, dominating 6-1. The boys’ match against Walter Johnson was rescheduled for April 14 where they won 6-1.

Both teams experienced their first loss of the season against rival school Churchill on Monday, April 13. Both matches resulted in a 4-3 loss. Although this was the first loss, junior co-captain Emma Ikeda felt the team still performed well and will continue to keep their heads up as their season continues. “I think our team did great overall. One aspect I really appreciate about our team, especially in moments like these, is the fact we always have a positive attitude. We really prioritize sportsmanship and team encouragement, which keeps us together the best. The only thing I think our team could improve on is being more resilient in tough positions like being down in the match, but I think this will come with time, especially with newer players,” Ikeda said.

The next match is April 15, versus Quince Orchard (QO), followed by Rockville on April 17.