The Colonia Boy’s Tennis Team suffered a loss against John F. Kennedy during their match on May first this past Monday. Although losing they played well and did not give up easily.
During their games, the tennis team fought for their points and played to win. This determination and stamina allowed for them to complete their games with close points and even get a win from second singles player, Shivam Patel.
Tennis is a sport with many rules and a lot of different terminology. It is played in five separate categories that require a starting line up of seven players. The best player on the team plays first singles, second best plays second singles, and so on. After third singles, there is a category known as doubles, where two members of the team play against two members of the opposing team. There is first and second doubles but, unlike singles, there is no third doubles.
The point system in tennis begins with four points in each game. The points are counted as love (or zero), 15, 30, and 40. These points are said to have originated from medieval France. Tennis players used to play indoors and the only way they could get a scoring system was the four quarters of the clock. They would go by 15, 30, 45 (which was later shortened to 40 because it was easier to say).
There are six games in one set, therefore a player must win the majority of the games to win the set. There have been times that the game was very close and both players ended with a 6-6 game. In this case the athletes would have to continue playing until one wins by two. In one match there are three sets therefore the player must win two of the three sets to win the match.
There are certain terms that are commonly used in tennis whether it regards hitting the ball a certain way or getting your opponent to miss a hit completely. The first thing the player will do is serve the ball. This is when he or she hits the ball over the net and into the service box, the two small squares in the front of the net.
They recite the score and what serve they’re on. Each player gets two chances to serve the ball and if they fail to get it in the service box then the point goes to the opposing team. A play can also get a let. When a play gets a let it means that the ball went into the service box but hit the net on the way therefore it is a redo. An ace is when a player serves the ball and the opposing member is unable to hit it back.
The Boy’s Tennis Team coach, Coach Finnigan went into the game with optimism. He had this attitude regardless of the fact that JFK is one of the best teams in this year’s division. At the end of the game Finnigan stated, “I was very please with my guys. I told you in the beginning of the day that I was hoping that we’d compete. That I knew JFK was better. We lost today but I saw some great moments from all of my guys and Shivam beat a second singles guys whose regarded as a good player in our division. That was a big win for Shivam and a big win for us. Something we can rally around.”
The first singles player, Dawid Tomczyk’s, put up a great fight during his match. Tomczyk played against a new JFK sophomore player who was scouted from another school. Aside from the tough opponent Tomczyk faced, he still managed to win some games as well. Tomczyk scored 4-6 in the first set and 1-6 in the second. After walking off the court, Tomczyk stated that, “It’s too hot to play tennis.”
Second singles player Shivam Patel achieved victory in his match as he went into a third set with JFK. He won the first set, 6-4, only to lose the second set 4-6, but came back during his third set to win the match, 6-3. There was much tension throughout the game as expectations were high for both athletes. There was even a brief argument over if the ball was truly in or out.
Third singles lost the first set 3-6, and the second 2-6. First doubles suffered an 0-6 loss on both sets and second doubles also suffered a 2-6 loss during both sets. Overall the team lost but as Sweta Patel, an onlooker said, “Colonia worked hard and they didn’t give up easily. They deserved a win.”
