Stepping up to the court, the SHS boys tennis team left with a loss of 4-1 against Franklin Central on Wednesday, Aug. 27.

Throughout the game, they put in the effort to keep up with their opponents and their players, which kept the crowd quiet during the entertaining matches.

With freshman Steven Thang leading up to the first set, setting his feet preparing for the first serve, Thang raised his right arm and with a forceful hit to the opponent, he got his first point. He ended off his last set with 2-6, with the unfortunate loss.

In spite of Thang’s loss, he fought hard to keep himself in the match with 3-6 for his last set. Thang put the effort into making a win for his team, but came up short.

“It didn’t really go my way, but you run for every match,” Thang said.

A few courts down, senior Liam Dailey and freshman Lincoln Kissel played doubles on court four. Dailey and Kissel focused on making every point count, while battling to keep their spot in the competition. 

As the match continued, Dailey and Kissle fought to keep their place, but, unfortunately lost both their sets to 0-6 and 2-6.

“I gotta work on getting the ball down and the sides more and keeping up with everyone,” Dailey said.

With the last set on the court, sophomore Brady Hobbs approached his last single with the loss of one set, the score reading 2-6. 

Hobbs strived to stay in the game and eventually won his next set with a score of 6-4. With a tie to FC, Hobbs put in as much effort and energy to the last set.

Hobbs ended off the second game with a tie. Hobbs then won the tiebreaker against his opponent and leaving his teammates on their feet.

“I didn’t feel anything, cause I know I was gonna win,” Hobbs said.

Hobbs led the team with one win through the evening. But the team is ready to improve themselves and get better before their next match against Beech Grove on Tuesday, Sept. 2.

Although many struggled through these matches, family and friends gathered around cheering on every player. Tennis coach Isaul Martinez was always the one behind them.

Martinez gave his players the opportunity to become the strongest they can be, by standing behind them and giving advice after every set to relax.

“It’s all about communication, footwork, knowing your opponent and your partner and feeding off each other,” Martinez said.

Though the players may have struggled, they will continue to improve themselves.

“Sometimes you just lose that way, but there’s a lot of good positives I saw,” Martinez said.