Jacob Pletka ’27 prepares to serve against Nobles.
4/11 – Andover: 4, Noble & Greenough: 3
4/14 – Andover: 3, Roxbury Latin: 4
4/16 – Andover: 6, St. Paul’s: 1
On Friday, Boys Tennis (4-1) overcame Noble & Greenough (Nobles) in a narrow victory; though, it fell to Roxbury Latin in a close loss on Monday. Despite this loss, the team rebounded in a commanding win against St. Paul’s on Wednesday. Injuries to key players plagued the team and contributed to its loss against Roxbury Latin, breaking a twenty match win streak.
On Wednesday, Boys Tennis defeated Nobles in a competitive series of matches. Co-Captain Kevin Niu ’25 praised Avery Zheng ’25 for his match-winning performance and discussed Zheng’s reliability.
“In terms of key players, during Nobles, I would say Avery Zheng [’25]. He just never loses—he’s a very consistent player. I can always look towards his court to get a confidence boost because I know he’s winning by so much. Against Nobles, we were tied 3-3, and Avery was the tie-breaking match. He won very convincingly, so it wasn’t even that nerve-wracking for us. He’s always someone we can rely on and count on to win,” said Niu.
Jeff Shen ’26 described the difficulties of the team’s matches against Roxbury Latin. Despite winning against Nobles on Friday, Shen believed the team was still recovering from the narrow victory. Furthermore, Shen also believed the long drive to Roxbury Latin may have affected the players abilities.
“It’s tough to be right on your game as soon as you hit the court—especially in a sport like this, where you’re expected to be sharp right from the start. Despite that, we had some moments that really helped us get back on our feet. Two of our top three singles players lost their first sets really quickly, but both were able to bounce back. I was able to take the second set from my opponent, and our number one, Chase Burke [’25], rebounded after a really fast loss in the first set. To overcome those challenges and take the second set with some great points was huge,” said Shen.
Shen also explained the mental aspect of tennis and expressed optimism despite the team’s loss against Roxbury Latin.
“If you asked most tennis players, they’ll tell you that tennis is a mental sport. It’s really, really tough to be alone in that sport—it’s very different. I also play soccer for the boys’ team, but it’s a completely different atmosphere. You’re on the court on your own, and sometimes these thoughts can get to you. So, for the next team, we have to remember that our first loss in two years is nothing to be concerned about. We played well. I’m proud of the team,” said Shen.
Bouncing back from its loss against Roxbury Latin, Jacob Pletka ’27 described the team’s mindset heading into its match against St. Paul’s. Despite the cold weather and having many teammates injured, the rest of the team was motivated to win.
“I would say that, even though we didn’t have three of our main guys, we still brought the energy in the match. Definitely, in that cold weather, everybody’s body gets sort of stiff and stuff. But I say that Avery [Zheng ‘25], who played number three, got his task done first. He put his hands together, clapped them, and got off the court. I guess that just motivated the rest of us to get it done as quickly and efficiently as possible,” said Pletka.
From the team’s first loss this season to Roxbury Latin, Captain Kevin Niu ’25 spoke on the elements that the team will focus on addressing. On top of communicating the need for the team to intensify its focus during practice and warmups, Niu also commented on the issue of having numerous players injured.
“Also, creating a more consistent lineup for our matches would really help. I feel like in a lot of our matches, some of us aren’t there or some of us are injured. So maybe taking better care of our bodies, making sure to stretch and do everything we need to, would help us have a full lineup going into each match. When we do, we have a good chance in every match we play. And I think it would help with team dynamic and lineups too—knowing where you’re playing and who you’re playing doubles with, so we’re not switching things around every time. I think creating that consistency, which we had last year, would be very useful going forward—especially after we just lost to Roxbury Latin,” said Kevin Niu.
Today, Boys Tennis will travel to Belmont Hill. On Saturday, it will face Deerfield at Home, and on Wednesday, it will play Groton in an away game.
