Following the close of MSMS Waves Soccer comes tennis season, and a small student-led tennis tournament led to balls flying, students cheering and a sparked interest in MSMS Tennis.

Hosted by juniors Hayden Anderson and Vidhi Patel, the event allowed MSMS students on campus to participate in both singles and doubles tennis brackets on Saturday, Jan. 30.

“I’ve been playing tennis for like the past four years, and we hadn’t really had any court time,” Anderson said. “I wanted to go and play because I love the sport, so Vidhi and I thought it would be cool to have a tennis tournament here.”

The event consisted of tennis matches between eight doubles teams and 13 singles players, as well as a soccer game for students who chose not to play tennis. However, due to time restraints, the singles matches were cut short. Patel shared her reasons for wanting to hold the event.

“Hearing from the seniors about the activities they did together made me realize how close the students used to be, and it made me remember that the family setting is a big reason I applied,” Patel said. “I specifically remember the day when the seniors moved in and everyone got together to play frisbee. [An event like that] wasn’t something the juniors would’ve done at the time and it was really fun.”

Junior Elena Eaton shared her experiences playing doubles alongside junior Lauren Hood.

“The tennis tournament was really fun,” Eaton said. “Granted, my team lost 6-2, but laughing off the missed serves and balls that went horribly out of bounds made the experience more than worthwhile.”

Although COVID-19 has impacted many MSMS sports seasons, Patel and Anderson took precautions to ensure that students could safely play while still following social distancing guidelines.

“Tennis is usually played outside, so that was a really helpful factor. Hayden made sure to send out forms asking about participants so we would know how many people to expect. Even though we were outdoors, only players actively playing could take their mask off and that was voiced to everyone,” Patel said.

The tournament and the soccer game allowed students to take a break from their homework and spend time together safely. 

“Honestly, I think it was a success. After the tournament, most of us went to dinner and I heard lots of people discussing actually joining the team. We didn’t get to finish the singles bracket but it was a success overall. It was really nice seeing so many people come together, COVID-19 friendly of course, and have a good time,” Patel said. “I feel like it was much needed to get away from the stress of school, especially since we’re always on campus and can’t help but constantly think about academics.”

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Caleb Jenkins

Students took a break from studying on Saturday and faced off against their peers in a tennis tournament.