The boys’ varsity tennis team narrowly lost its quest to advance to the CCS finals after an undefeated league season, losing 4-3 on May 13 to The Harker School in the semifinal round.
“Although our loss was unfortunate, it has been an honor to be part of a team that fights until the end and embodies the spirit of Saratoga High,” junior Terry Shu said.
While the team as a whole was eliminated, the singles and doubles CCS events were scheduled to occur on May 18-22. Senior Somei Ogata and sophomore Riki Toram were scheduled to compete in singles, and junior Akiva Goldwasser and senior Nikhil Srivatsa were scheduled to compete in doubles.
The Falcons finished their last match of the season at Homestead on April 28, ending their regular season with another win. After facing six teams in the De Anza League in the regular season, the Falcons, under head coach Florin Marica, advanced as undefeated league champions with a 12-0 record.
Although they struggled with chemistry earlier in the season, the Falcons overcame these challenges by focusing their efforts together.
“A lot of the challenges we had at the start of the season were due to being unfamiliar with each other. We had trouble playing doubles with others as well as practicing together,” freshman Arhan Garg said.
Garg noted that Marica played a vital role in helping them adapt to each other, with icebreakers and other activities to help the team bond. This lack of connection was especially prevalent this year because three players on the varsity team were freshmen, meaning they weren’t as familiar with the team structure and upperclassmen.
This better chemistry helped fuel them through their season, especially during two wins on March 10 and March 31 with scores of 6-1 and 4-3, respectively, against the second place Los Altos, which closed out its season with a 9-3 record.
As the team moves forward, they plan to take stock of their close loss against Harker.
“Every loss is just further motivation to do better; we should have played better, and CCS is a great place to prove it,” sophomore Riki Toram said.
