Blazer netmen destroy Blake

The Blair boys' tennis team crushed Blake in a non-divisional match, winning with a 7-0 sweep on Mar 25.

First singles player junior Michael Price defeated his Blake opponent, Ryan Levin, 6-1, 6-0, with an ace on match-point.

Coach David Ngbea praised the "cohesiveness of the team" as one of the biggest contributors to the win. "I like the fact that they are a fun bunch," he said. "You can tell that they love this."

Second-seeded singles player junior Gordon Su won his match 6-1, 6-2, but was still a little disappointed at his performance. "I felt like I could have played better," he said. "I just need to be more consistent and get over these nerves."

Ngbea was "satisfied" with the win, but noted that the windy weather may have affected the team's play. "They probably weren't having as much fun as they'd have liked," he said.

He was quick to point out improvements that he would like to see made. "It's going to be very important that we work on serves and volleys in the future," he said. "We'll be doing a lot more of those at practice now."

He also cited doubles as the key to future successes. "Doubles matches are what are going to get us over this hump," he said.

First doubles partners junior Artem Ryzhkov and senior Sei-Wook Kim won 6-2, 6-0, with the biggest doubles win. Junior Kevin Chai and senior Ji-Heon Kim defeated the second-seeded Blake pair 6-2, 6-1, and sophomores Edward Hsieh and Michael Tsai won on the third doubles court 6-3, 6-0.

Ji-Heon Kim attributed the win to the team's poise. "I think our greatest strength has to be the general confidence of the team. I really think we've got experience on our side," he said.

Su looks to the future with hope. "We just need to remember that we're the best. Only when we know we're the best can we be the best."