Ranked 6th in the nation, boys tennis earned their place at the 25th Annual All-American Boys Tennis Invitational, one of the most prestigious high school tournaments in the country. They have positioned themselves among the best teams in the country thanks to their talent, experience and determination.
The Giants were invited to the 25th Annual All-American Boys Tennis Invitational, one of the most prestigious high school tournaments in the country. Being one of the few Northern California public schools in the draw, the standards were much higher than a normal match.
The mid-March tournament hosted the top competition in the country in the Palos Verdes Peninsula, south of Los Angeles. Despite missing the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds on the team, Redwood still managed to compete against tough competition and finished ahead of many private school programs and national invitees.
Leading up to the Southern California tournament, the Giants narrowly defeated University High School from San Francisco, beating the Red Devils 4-3 in Golden Gate Park on March 9. University was recently ranked as the No. 6 best high school team in the nation, according to Universal Tennis Ratings.
Redwood sophomore Casra Afsharipour won his match at the No. 1 singles, easily defeating his opponent 6-0, and 6-2.
Three Redwood doubles teams also won their matches (Julian Zhang/Calado Fazal at the No.1 match, as well as Ollie Weston/Will Greenwald and Lukas Berger/Declan Gray).
The tennis team currently sits at the top of the standings in Marin County Athletic League (MCAL). However, the Giants have four upcoming local matchups, against teams they have had trouble defeating previously.
With the dominant performance that the team is having this year, they’ve started setting their sights on a bigger achievement: winning the North Coast Championships (NCS).
Craig Flax, the boys tennis head coach, talked about the team’s standards and goals this season.
“Winning NCS is definitely the goal for 2026 and then having a good showing at NorCals,” said Flax. “Then next year, the goal is to win state.”
Last year, the team didn’t qualify for NorCals after a third round loss to Amador Valley in NCS.
Flax also expressed his optimism for the 2027 team, referencing the strong skill set of the underclassmen on the team.
“We are going to be very, very, very strong next year,” Flax said.
According to Flax, the team is only losing two of the top 10 players, who will be graduating in June, and is expecting several impressive players to join the team next season.
“We are getting in a couple of players who might be as strong if not stronger,” Flax said.
Current standings list Redwood at the top of the table in MCAL league play (8-0) and 10-6 overall. Junior team captain Calado Fazal attributes much of this year’s success to the team’s depth and chemistry.
“We rely on each other to come through in matches. And not just one player, but the entire group,” Fazal said.
“At the end of the day, our effort as a team wins matches, not our ranking.”
At the top of the ladder, Julian Zhang and Casra Afsharipour have been consistent as the No. 1 and No. 2 singles players on the team and have contributed to consistent wins in tough matchups.
Zhang currently ranks 71st in the country. Though he is on the Redwood team, Zhang hasn’t played in many matches for the team this year as he has in the past, because he was focused on recovering from an illness earlier in the season.
Individual players lead the team while a deep lineup of talent has contributed to the team’s overall success this season.
“Even though tennis is an individual sport, every match contributes to the overall score. You’re playing for yourself and everyone else on the team. If one player is struggling in their match, someone else has to step up for the team and win,” team captain Fazal said.
“You play harder knowing your teammates are counting on you.”
Coach Flax knows said the team is in a dominant position this year and hopes the players realize this too.
“We are in this amazing place where we’re a really dominant team but I want them to represent Redwood in a way that makes the other kids kind of proud that they lost to Redwood,” Flax said.
