by Katie Barton| Editor-In-Chief
District play is already underway but one sweet moment this season will be the win against Alamo Heights for the first time in fall tennis history.
“That was great, because we haven’t had that kind of success here as a program,” tennis coach Kenneth Bice said. “Going back to 2012, usually it’s been one sided and so it’s nice to be on the winning side of that for once.”
The win was so exciting that Bice even got a little emotional.
“It was awesome,” senior Lucas Bustos said. “We all cheered, ran on the court, our coach was crying, he was emotional.”
Both the coaches and the students expect this to be a great season for the team.
“It’s only the start and we haven’t done anything bad so far,” Bustos said. “We beat, Champions for the first time ever. So that’s good. Also we beat Alamo Heights for the first time ever, that’s even better. We’re starting off strong so far.”
This year’s tennis team consists of mostly upperclassmen meaning they have a lot of experience on the tennis court.
“We have 10 seniors, out of 14 that participate in the fall season,” Bice said. “I think that lends itself to being a little bit more experienced in handling difficult and challenging situations.”
Bustos has been playing tennis since sixth grade, however his view on the sport overall has changed overtime.
“It’s an individual sport mostly,” Bustos said. “but then once middle school and high school came, I realized it was more of a team sport.”
This feeling of team camaraderie is also present in Bustos’s goals for the season.
“Just to get better, as best as possible,” Bustos said. “But also beat teams that people think we shouldn’t beat like Alamo Heights.”
While the players have high expectations for their athletic season, their coach hopes they can get other life lessons out of the sport as well.
“Not just to succeed athletically, but to be well rounded,” Bice said. “To compete no matter what and deal with disappointment. It’s building that professional character day in and day out.”
