After a strong 10 and 2 start to the fall season with a disappointing loss to Plano and a come from behind victory over Allen, the Jesuit tennis team heads to Houston for a classic battle for Jesuit supremacy.
After losses in the past two years, the Rangers will be determined to get the better of their counterparts to the south this go-around.
With a team heavily composed of upperclassmen, Jesuit looks to Senior Co-Captains Max Montague and Max Barretto to lead the charge. As the final chapter of the 2010 fall season winds down, Max Barretto looks back on the season and is “proud of where the team has come,” seeing “great promise both for the spring season and the future.” Fellow Co-Captain Max Montague reflects on his past three seasons and believes that “Jesuit tennis gives us a chance to, in an individual sport, become a team,” adding that “it is truly a unique experience.”
Under the guidance and leadership of Coach Paul McDaniel, the Jesuit tennis team has grown in the past few years from four people to a full twenty-eight man roster. Junior Nick Erturkuner believes the team has developed into “a family, each trying to make the other bette.r” Ranger tennis will march down to Houston prepared for a fight, but more importantly, together as a family.
The fall season ended in November for the team without the opportunity to play for a team district title. Ever since Jesuit has joined the UIL, the tennis team has not been able to compete in the district championships because they do not have girls to compete with. Coach McDaniel reflects saying that “we can’t really do anything about it. We don’t have girls so they don’t let us play. Since we can’t play districts in the fall, we just focus on getting better for the spring season.” This tends to be a common reaction from most of the players on the team.
Although the fall season for the tennis team ended, there is still another whole season to be played, the individual season. In the spring, the team plays a variety of tournaments across the state, not only competing for Jesuit but also for themselves as individuals. They play different opponents than in the fall season and can also play districts as opposed to the fall season. Over the years, the Jesuit tennis team has competed well in both seasons and after a strong fall season they hope to continue their success into the spring season.
