The varsity boys tennis team made it to Regionals ranked the number one seed, and won the Regional Championship, defending both their seeding and their past title. The Regional tennis match was played at the Rome Tennis Center (RTC) starting at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 25 and continued through Wednesday, March 25. The lineup for the match was 1S Murray, 2S John, 3S Randy, 1D Felipe/Davis, 2D Grady/Andrew. The boys had a difficult season with many competitive opponents but still managed to be undefeated. Now, the boy’s tennis team is preparing for the State Championship.
Tennis matches started in 1873 and are played with three singles players and two sets of doubles. To win a point in tennis, the opponent fails to return the ball, or returns the ball out. This year, the GHSA decided no ad, which is when the opponents are tied at 40-40, or deuce, and the player has to win two points in row to win the game. Without ad, this means faster games and a lot less room for error.
“We have played a lot of difficult matches this season, and the doubles players have been playing with their partners for the whole season, so they have built chemistry together,” freshman Andrew Parsa said.
To prepare for the tennis matches the boys have warm-ups to help get the nerves out and get their muscles warmed up. These warm-ups range from jump ropes and stretch bands, hitting back and forth, stretching and serving.
“We practiced a lot and got there early so we could warm up,” sophomore Grady Ferguson said, who was Parsa’s double partner.
Everyone wants to win, which makes the matches have even more pressure than usual, causing for a grueling match up. Every team brings their best fight since they have won years in a row.
“This is the Darlington’s boys fourth year in a row winning the Regional Championship, so the pressure was on,” junior and line 2 singles player John Courtney said.
In two weeks the boys tennis team will be playing in the State Championship. The State will be even more difficult, but the boys are confident they will do good.
“We will have to continue to practice hard and play our best for the state,” Ferguson said.