No. 1 singles: the slot in tennis held only by the best singles player on the team.
While most would expect such a revered position to belong to an upperclassman or one of the captains, this year’s singles one position belongs to sophomore Kial Kaiser.
“Kial is a strong presence on the team and always keeps our spirits up,” senior captain Krishnan Raman said. “He’s definitely improved and he continues to be mentally tough and is constantly adding to his game, becoming a complete all around player necessary to compete at top levels.”
Kaiser first picked up the tennis racket at age 8. In addition to playing for the school team, he practices six to seven times a week for three to four hours each time and has placed in national tournaments such as the United States Tennis Association (USTA) National Clay tournament and the USTA Spring Easter Bowl Tournament.
When he was 14, Kaiser was ranked No. 1 in Northern California and 12th in the nation among his age category. Currently, he is ranked No. 4 in Northern California and among the nation’s top 120 in the age 16 category.
“I like the competitive nature of the sport and how no one can really change what you do but yourself,” Kaiser said. “I don’t like losing and also the fact that sometimes it’s hard to play all by yourself.”
Kaiser feels that the team had a great season last year; however, Kaiser also believes that the loss of key alumni Deepak Sabada and Nikhil Jayashankar will make this season tougher.
“We had a solid force last year, and everyone gave their full effort,” Kaiser said. “The matches will definitely by more challenging this year, but it’ll be fun representing the team at No. 1.”
Kaiser’s teammates have acknowledged his talents and appreciate his presence on the team.
On March 2-3, the team placed third in Fresno tournament that features the top 16 teams in the state. Also present at the competition was Monta Vista, who will be the Falcons’ main rival for first in leagues this year.
The team opened on March 2 with a 7-0 win over Dana Hills along with a 4-3 win over a very strong Santa Barbara team. On March 3, the team lost 7-0 to Menlo in the semi-finals before coming back with a 6-1 victory over Gunn.
Kaiser demonstrated his talents at the tournaments and won three out of his four matches, losing only by a small margin to the No. 1 singles player from the Menlo, who later won the tournament.
“It feels pretty cool to represent the team as a sophomore,” Kaiser said. “I just need to perform well.”