She stood on the tennis court, racquet in hand, feeling a slight breeze in the air and a hint of anticipation. Her teammates watched her from afar, too afraid to breathe for fear of ruining her shot, all hoping for the point that wins the game, the set, and the match against an opponent that no one can every remember beating.
That is exactly what junior Eunice Sanchez felt at the tennis match on September 15. Clark High School had not lost a district tennis game to Holmes in over 25 years until last Friday when the Husky tennis team beat them 10-9.
According to tennis coach, Jose Mares, when he began coaching at Holmes several years ago, “there was really no tradition of winning, there was no ambition, [and] there was no effort.”
He, along with his fellow coaching staff, have slowly started to change the culture surrounding the school. Coach Mares touched on the different goals the team has set each year, in order to get the team where they have landed on the District ranking. That team from just a couple of years ago would have never thought that they would be standing on the court, beating one of the top school’s in NISD.
After years of hard work, constant effort on and off the court, the Huskies finally got to see some pretty big results. From winning one District match which Husky tennis hadn’t done in about eight years, to getting a the victory over Clark that none of them could have ever imagined.
Coach Mares recalls the night of the team’s victory against Clark, saying, “it was definitely an emotional night for me and my team. I think the team was all playing at a different level. We all knew what we had to do, and we all had each other’s backs. It was a really good night.”
Coach Mares wasn’t the only one filled with thoughts and emotions about last Friday’s match.
“The match was tough. Everyone on the team played the best they could. Some people won and some people lost, but in the end I think it really showed off all the hard work that we’ve been putting in for the past three years, and finally showed that we aren’t just a pushover team anymore,” senior Jordan Lott said.
After all the time that has passed for this senior, it was something worth praising and a well-deserved reward for all the effort and time he and his fellow teammates have continued to put in.
photo by Kodi Oehler
ABOVE: Junior Hussain Hamide, is caught in the middle of his excitement as he celebrates the big win.
“For the first time we beat Clark, a team that didn’t think we were worth their time,” junior Eunice Sanchez, the key player in last Friday’s match, who was the last person to score the point, resulting in one of the biggest matches of the season, said.
photo by Arthur Martinez
ABOVE: 2017 graduate, Victoria Devora, cries as her past teammates make a name for themselves.
photo by Kodi Oehler
Coach Jose Mares makes a heartfelt speech to the team after their big win against Clark.
Tennis is a sport that is often criticized by people who believe it’s easy to just go out on a court with a racket and hit some balls around. Senior Sara Camposano recalls “join[ing] [the] sport [because she] thought it was going to be easy.”
She soon realized just how much work she was going to need to put in.
“It’s definitely not an easy sport, it takes a lot of practice [and] a lot of skill to get to the elite level,” Mares said.
As for those who still doubt the difficulty of this sport, Coach Mares “invite[s] them to come out and try.”
If you’re up for a challenge, stop by the courts and see just how well you can keep up. Or come out to a match and support your fellow students in competition.
Stay tuned as the Huskies take on O’Connor on Tuesday Sept. 26 at the Northside Tennis Center, starting at 4 p.m.
So proud of you all Team Huskies!! I am the proud Aunt of Senior Jordan Lott!