Vishwa Subramaniam

Nathan Wong is practicing hard as he prepares for the upcoming season.

The boys tennis team has a promising chance at earning the state title this year as they begin their meet season and prepare to compete at state.

This tennis season for the boys tennis team is unlike any in the past. Ranked 2nd in the state by the coaches poll, many on and off the team are excited to see what the team has in store.

One large part of this high ranking could be due to the skill of the freshman class. Many of the freshmen attend Thrive Academy, a local tennis academy run at the Quad City Tennis Club. Now their hard work at a young age is paying off, for they are used to playing matches and have trained well for the season.

Many of them have lots of room to grow, but with strong freshman, Pleasant Valley can have a deep varsity that allows for great tennis on the whole team instead of having just one strong top player.

Coach Brockhage is excited to see where the freshman will take the team. “I think this is the best incoming class of freshman I have ever had and that’s in 28 years of PV tennis. The number of freshmen that are in the top 20 is just amazing. It gives me comfort to know that there are many good players that can fill the leaving senior’s roles.”

This also means the boys tennis team is going to have to work hard to perform well. “I think we can win it all this year. It is not who you play, but how you play,” continued Brockhage.

The team members this year are also in a mindset to win it all. They have been hard at work all year long. Kiran Marla hopes they can actually go undefeated this season and win MAC, Districts, and even State. Marla said, “I am excited to play Iowa City West, the #1 ranked this year. Like Coach Brockage says, it is not who you play, but how you play, so if we are focused, anything is possible.”

Marla encouraged the school to come out and support the tennis team on their journey. “We love to see a great turnout at our meets, it always feels good to have the schools support on your back,” he said.