Owen Leung ’24

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Starting off strong, the Strake Jesuit freshman and junior varsity tennis team excelled in their first tournament of the season. 

On January 12, the Strake Jesuit JV Green team and the Freshman team competed in the Lamar Consolidated ISD JV tournament and won the JV Doubles A draw, the JV Doubles B draw, and the JV Singles A draw. 

Going into the tournament, there was some apprehension as it was the first of the season. 

“We heard that there was going to be some good competition,” Matthew Fenz ‘24 said. 

However, the Crusaders performed exceptionally, demonstrating the strengths of the team. Their relationships and synergy helped them overcome their opponents. 

“Both my partner and I performed perfectly in sync with each other,” Diego Sarmiento ‘24 said. “One of our strong points during the tournament was communication with each other during points–switching sides and advising each other when to lob and when to pass the net person down the line.” 

Because of the demonstrated strength of the team, the SJ netters are optimistic about their season. “I feel like no one can come in the way of SJ going to state,” Aiden Merchang ‘25 said.