Men’s tennis team in pursuit of NBL Championship

Junior Luke Negri does practice serve during warmups (Photo: Jonathan Giron, The Puma Prensa)

By Micah Cardona, staff writer
Men’s tennis is in full swing for the 2023 season. After a rocky-preseason start with losses to Campolindo High School and Sonoma Academy in March, the team looks to improve themselves as they continue on their quest for the NBL title. 

The team is led by head coach Steve Carter and assistant coach Jonathan Morris as well as the two captains, senior Chase Carter and junior Luke Negri, who are the top two single players for the team. “I would say our two captains Chase, and Luke have been leading the team well and set a good example for the younger players,” said coach Carter. He added, “One player in particular who has been playing really well this season is junior Joey Manfredi.” Manfredi is currently ranked third on the team and has been a lot of help to the teams overall success so far. 

Due to the rainy weather in Santa Rosa, earlier tennis matches had to be canceled and continued to delay the start of the season. This has caused some difficulties for the team. “I think one of the overall main improvements is making sure we are able to come together as a team. Due to rain we’ve had a lot of limited practices and the players just need to gel a little bit more as a team, but they’re getting there,” said Carter. Manfredi felt the same way and hoped to see more improvement in the team's spirit. “I would like to see us all come together and bond through practice and competition,” said Manfredi. He continued, “I feel that compared to other highschool teams, Carrillo is a place that values tennis and it’s great to be part of a team that does so.” 

The weather finally cleared on March 28, and Carrillo won their first regular season match with a score of 7-0 to Montgomery High School led by wins from Manfredi, and freshman Matthew Lee. 

On April 4, MCHS would go up against Cardinal Newman, but MCHS would come out on top after a 5-2 victory with singles wins from Negri, Manfredi, and freshman Henry Nguyen. As well as a great doubles performance from the duo Jackson Dorr and Gavin Baker, who were able to squeeze out a well deserved win. Negri was happy with how the team played. “I enjoyed seeing the team spirit today and it was great to see family, friends, and players all support one another throughout the games,” said Negri. 

In the most recent match, Carrillo’s team traveled down to Windsor where they continue to dominate, winning with a score of 6-1. All players played well however the team had to default the third doubles match due to a player being unavailable to play. Carrillos next matches will be against Healdsburg and Santa Rosa. 

With the season only starting and many more matches to go, the tennis team hopes to carry on with their success. Carter said, “We have a pretty strong team here so one of the ultimate goals is to win the league, but at the end of the day I just want the players to have fun and get better.”