Ridgeview’s New Tennis Team

Serenity Mejia, Staff Writer

Most people who don’t play tennis, think it’s an easy sport until you’re actually playing on the court.
Returners, John Jarrett and Salvador Corral, know what it takes to play tennis. Jarrett says, “I think it takes perseverance to an extent because I feel like people think tennis is really easy, but it’s really frustrating and if you don’t get it the first couple times, you have to keep going.”
Corral adds, “I think you just have to have fun and take it a little bit seriously if you really want to play well on varsity”.
Rice says, “A lot of hard work and patience. To play at a high level, one needs to be fit as well.
As far as how the season is going for the team, Rice says, “It’s early but we are 1-1 in matches so far. The boys’ are working hard, so I’m looking forward to them improving as we go.”
“So far I think our team is pretty good and we have a chance at winning something”, responded Corral.
The players and Rice have many goals this season, such as: “The goal for this year is to improve each player’s skill to prepare for varsity level play”, said Rice.
Jarrett adds, “I just want to get better than I am because it’s hard to get better at tennis fast, so I just want to try my hardest to rise up a couple of spots.” Corral responds, “I’m trying to get number one seat again.”
On the other hand, for the newcomers on the team, Rice says, “They are working hard and trying to get used to the way myself and my JV coach want them to play.”
“They’re actually doing pretty good, I got to play with them a couple of times and they seem like they really like the sport”, said Corral. Jarrett’s response was, “The newcomers are cool and they’re pretty much our level just starting out which is really good.”
Some advice for those who want to play tennis, “Just go for it”, says Jarrett.
Corral said, “Just come out because so many people think it’s a boring sport but it’s actually fun. I even invited my friends to come out and give it a shot because at the end of the day it’s all about having fun and getting more experiences in high school.”
Lastly, the returners and Rice were asked about which school they believed was going to be their biggest opponent. Corral’s response was, “I think West will be our toughest because they were winning a lot last year.” “Probably Garces because their players are pretty intimidating, not to me but since tennis isn’t a big sport here. Newcomers aren’t getting fit to play tennis.”, adds Jarrett. Rice said, “In our league I believe Bakersfield Christian will be the toughest. Many of their players have played tennis since they were young and many have taken lessons.