Pacific Index

Personal opinions from Pacific tennis players on how their season turned out

   Boxer Tennis wrapped up their seasons a couple weeks ago with Men’s tennis finishing with a record of 7-11, and Women’s tennis finishing with a record of 7-10. To better understand all the triumphs and hardships of this season, I interviewed three players to get their perspectives on how their teams performed this year.

   Both teams had the injury bug hit them hard, with multiple starters being out for both teams on more than one occasion. “We had three starters out at one point, for a full weekend so that means against two teams,” said senior Ryley Chang. Chang rotated between playing four and five singles for the Boxers, and finished with a 4-6 record this year. Looks can be deceiving though, because according to Chang, his best match of the year came in a loss. “Honestly, I feel like I played my best match against Whitworth, despite the loss,” he said. In that match, Chang fought hard, but ultimately had to retire due to injury down 4-5 in the final set. 

   Similar to Chang, junior Jonathan Nguyen also felt like he played his best tennis against Whitworth. “I remember crying because I was so happy to be off the court,” said Nguyen with a smile. Even though the match was straight sets, it took almost three hours. Nguyen’s worst match in his opinion was against Lewis & Clark of Idaho. “I just didn’t have any answers for him that day, but props to him,” said Nguyen. Even though finishing with a record of 7-10 may not look good on paper, according to Nguyen the team has more chemistry than ever. “I feel closer to everyone, top down. I can’t even point to someone who I’m not close with,” he said. “I’d say the same thing,” added Chang. Chang and his doubles partner Josh Dela Cruz went 4-5 on the year, and Nguyen and his partner Dawson Hose went 11-2. Nguyen also posted a 6-7 singles record to finish the season.

   For Tiara Yeung, a sophomore from Portland, this season was a step up in terms of difficulty. For one, three high level seniors graduated last year, so she was dealing with the added pressures of playing higher level matches. For another, that pesky injury bug couldn’t seem to stop hitting the Boxers. It got so bad that they had to forfeit a couple of their singles matches due to simply not having enough players. Despite the adversity though, Yeung feels like she stepped her game up in response. “I guess I just had to be better,” said Yeung matter-of-factly. “I also felt like I had to push myself more,” she said. Yeung really highlighted the importance of perseverance, and finding ways to push yourself through tough times. This “grit” that the team showed became their word of the season. 

   Just like the previous interviewees, I asked Yeung what she thought her best and worst matches were this season. “Oooohhh, we were just talking about this yesterday,” she said excitedly. In her opinion, her best match was in doubles against Whitman. Playing with her partner, junior Henleigh Elder, they took down a tough squad with a score of 6-4. “We were switching returning sides, I normally played deuce side but coach told us that we need to try something new—so we switched it up. I began playing the ad side that day, and we had no practice on these switched return sides.” Evidently, the side switch turned out to be a stroke of genius by head coach Traci Binder. According to Yeung, the team also got a lot closer this year. “We all get along really well, we’re all friends on and off the court,” she said. “I really enjoy my relationships with everyone on the team!” 

   Both men’s and women’s tennis teams will look to make it back to the postseason next year, after a hopefully brief absence this season.