After maintaining high expectations at the beginning of the season, and coming off as co-champions with Hollister, the boys’ tennis team has stood their ground. “We stepped up to the plate early, my returners were ready to go when the season started, and we managed to stay together,” Coach Naveed Habibelahian said.

Habibelahian is in his first year as the boys’ head coach, and last year, he worked as an assistant for the boys’ team and as the girls’ head coach this season. 

Although this year’s team has been at disadvantage by losing some of the most competitive players from last season, the Trojans were determined to prove themselves in the Mission Division. “Some of my guys had to step up, even if they didn’t have the experience for that opportunity so it was definitely a challenge for my players to really be tough mentally,”  Habibelahian said. 

This year’s team consists of 12 total players. The senior returners were Kayden Posecion, Joseph Aguilar, Fernando Gonzales, and Alexis Duenas. Also returning were juniors Sebastian Barajas and Joshua Ward. 

The team managed to compete while forming and maintaining a strong relationship with each other. “There’s always so much energy on and off the court and in the car rides,” Ward said. 

The team finished up 0-3 in preseason and 7-3 in league. Although they had a tough season, they managed to come out and make the most out of every match. “This season has taught me to play with more people with different styles, what my strengths and weaknesses are, and to be more accurate, especially with my serve,” Junior Sebastian Barajas said. 

As the season came to an end, junior doubles player Sebastian Barajas worked along senior Fernando Gonzales in PCALs, falling 2-6 and 5-7. “It was unfortunate,” Barajas said. “I feel we could have done better, although we were missing a lot of players during different weeks, we were able to maintain a good standing.”

Throughout the season, the Trojans were able to make progress along the way. “We’ve been more dynamic, working closely together, and having a good relationship,” senior Joseph Aguilar said. “I liked how we challenged and supported each other.” 

Although it was a challenge, Habibelahian observed decent progress for individual players and for the team as a whole. “We had multiple dominant wins against Salinas High, Gonzales, and Rancho San Juan and it shows we were up for the challenge,” he said. He personally believes that the team has shown some great improvement on and off the court. 

Having tied second place with Palma, Habibelahian proved that the Trojans were determined to show up and show out. “We lost a handful of seniors last season and we knew we were going to have a young team,” he said.  “I told them at the beginning of the season, I don’t care if we go undefeated or if we lose every match, I just want us to get better as a team. The fact that they stuck with me and were willing to improve makes me very happy as a coach.”

Correction: The story originally said the team played in the Gabilan Division, but they play in the Mission Division. We apologize for this error.