The boys’ varsity tennis team has enjoyed an eventful past two weeks. On Wednesday, April 17, they beat the Archie Williams Falcons 7-0 in the Marin County Athletic League (MCAL) team semifinals to advance to the team championships. In the championship, on Friday, April 19, the Giants were just as dominant, winning 6-1 and securing the MCAL team title. Then, on Wednesday, April 24, senior Jackson Sichel secured second place in the boy’s singles tournament, while senior Chris Lee and freshman Cal Fazal beat their teammates, senior Julian Montalik and freshman Will Greenwald, to finish third and fourth, respectively, in the MCAL doubles tournament. Later in the week, freshman Julian Zhang was named MCAL player of the year. To cap it all off, Congressman Jared Huffman, a long-time friend of coach Craig Flax, stopped by practice on Friday to play with the team.
“I like hanging out with young people and trying to be a positive influence. I just wanted to come and support Coach Flax and give these young athletes some positive energy as they head further into the playoffs,” Huffman said.
The North Coast Section (NCS) singles and doubles tournament will take place on May 3 and 4, and the team playoffs will start about a week later. The competition is a step up from local play, but the Giants still maintain high expectations.
“There are some very strong teams in the NCS. Making it to the semifinals is kind of my expectation, and if we make it to the finals, I would be very happy. We can compete with all of the best teams for sure. I don’t know if we’re far better than any of them, but I think we’re right with them,” Flax said.
Zhang continued his spectacular season into the playoffs, taking down Branson’s top player, 6-4, 6-1, in the MCAL championship. However, due to a conflict with another tournament, he could not attend the MCAL singles playoffs. Looking ahead to the NCS, Zhang has one goal in mind.
“[NCS] is definitely very competitive, but we played some great teams in MCAL too so I think we’re ready. We’re hoping to win the whole thing,” Zhang said.
The boys’ varsity team has had large success despite an inexperienced, largely underclassmen roster. The young freshmen class makes Flax very excited for the future of the team.
“With this group of freshmen, if they all stay playing high school tennis, we will be very good. We won NCS in 2018, and these guys, maybe even by next year, will be better than that team. They just need some time to develop,” Flax said.
Congressman Huffman’s appearance at practice provided a nice change of pace for the team. On a sunny but very windy Friday afternoon, Huffman teamed up with Zhang and took on some of the best the Giants had to offer. In his first match, they faced captains Lee and Sichel, easily defeating them 6-0 in a lighthearted, friendly match. The duo took on junior Liam Martinez and Greenwald in the second match. Once again, the Congressman won handily, 6-1 this time. They finished the day playing matches of just one or two games, allowing the rest of the team to face off against Huffman. The Congressman played well, partly due to help from the MCAL player of the year, and also because of the Giants’ timidness to hit balls too hard at him. Nonetheless, his athleticism and serves were impressive, and the Giants enjoyed his presence in the midst of their postseason run.
