The MSMS tennis team clinched its third year in a row as undefeated district champion ahead of the final district match against French Camp.

MSMS concluded March and the regular tennis season with a 7-0 senior night victory against West Point and a 4-3 road victory at French Camp.

Coach Troy King congratulated each senior on a well-played season and wished them well going into playoffs. 

“This match really meant a lot to me and the team,” King said. “The people at the district office had already confirmed we won and went over the trophies, so we got to celebrate the seniors and their win. Winning 7-0 today was also a big boost and made the day really special.”

On senior night, Frazer and Goen’s singles players Towery McNeil and Blair Diffrient won in straight sets. The Frazer Doubles Team 1 of Nick Popescu and Sahib Gill, Doubles Team 2 of Jeremy Dawe and Adit Patel and mixed team Arika Gardner and Andy Liu also won in straight sets. Junior Iris Xue joined Goen Doubles Team 2 juniors Mariane Powell and Sydney Beane as the only non-seniors who started. Both Goen doubles teams won.

“I’m glad [I got] the chance to play singles,” McNeil said. “It was a fun night to celebrate the seniors!” 

MSMS’ final district victory at French Camp on March 30 cemented the team’s first-round bye in the playoffs. Frazer Doubles Team 1 seniors Gordon Welch and Popescu won 6-2, 6-1; Frazer Doubles Team 2 Gill and junior Sebastian Harvey won 6-0, 6-1; and the Mixed Doubles Team of Gardner and Dawe won 6-0, 6-1. 

The overall outcome of the match for the MSMS team came down to the Goen Doubles Team 2 match, in which Powell and Beane pulled out a close victory after losing the first set 7-5, winning the second set 6-2 and setting up a tiebreaker showdown. After a hard-fought battle, Powell and Beane won the tiebreak 19-17, securing the 4-3 win for the team in the final match of the regular season.

“The score being super tight the entire third set — coupled with the fact that we had the weight of the whole team on our shoulders and a crowd of 30 people behind the fence — amplified the tension during the last 35 minutes of the match. Sydney and I were able to lock in mentally, which is what helped us secure the W the team needed,” Powell said.