On September 16th, the Jesuit tennis team faced Irving High School in their third match-up of the season. Jesuit continued building on their early season success, blanking the Tigers 15-0.
Clark Shannon’17 dominated in his single match, sweeping his opponent 8-0. Easily winning, Clark was “pleased” with his performance, but knows “these early matches serve mainly as practice for the tougher competition the team will face later down the road.”
Head tennis coach, Mr. McDaniel, echoed this point, explaining that the team “is in the easier part of the schedule now.” Later on in season, however, players will encounter tougher competition such as Highland Park, Allen, and Texarkana that McDaniel believes “will give the team a better understanding of how good” they really stack up against the competition. In addition, Mr. McDaniel feels that playing each other in “inter-squad matches gives the team more confidence as opposed to their district opponents.”
After their convincing win against Irving High School, Jesuit took on Irving Nimtz. Much like the preceding opponent, the Vikings proved to be no match for the well-disciplined Rangers, who swept them 15-0 to remain undefeated on the season. This flawless performance marks the fourth time this year that Jesuit has succeeded in not losing a singles or doubles match.
Jesuit’s number one singles player, Hayden Kisse ’17, completely overpowered his opponent, winning 6-0, 6-0 in his match. Hayden attributed most of his success to his ability to “be consistent and keep the ball in play,” making only “a few unforced errors.” Hayden was also excited about his service game as “a couple of [his] big serves” resulted in aces.
Mr. McDaniel was also pleased with how well freshmen like Nico Cornejo and Alex Giebler played, stating that they are “figuring out what is expected of them” as Jesuit tennis players, as well as “becoming more relaxed” on the court with each match they play.
Next week, the Rangers travel to Lake Highlands, looking to extend their winning streak to five games before facing Highland Park in their first true test of the year.
