On Monday, April 4th the Lenoir City Tennis team competed in their first met of the season, at William Blount High School. It was a bright day, with the rapid movement making the temperature increase–also making it difficult to see the equally bright tennis balls flying around.

Despite this, the team performed to their best.

For some this was nothing new, but for others this was their first time ever playing the game competitively. An appreciation was present before the match; worries over the other team and personal embarrassment filled the minds of the new players.

One of these new faces being Leonardo Estrada (10).

Estrada became interested in tennis after a genuine interest in the sport emerged. “I got into tennis because I just wanted to do something else this semester instead of just coming to school. When I got into high school, I heard there was a tennis team, [and] I was actually really interested because I always enjoyed watching tennis,” said Estrada.

To him the sport has been able to connect with him in a way no other sport has. “I’ve tried to get into a lot of sports in the past, and I honestly enjoy tennis so much more than anything I’ve ever done,” said Estrada.

For the match on the fourth, Estrada felt nervous.”It was scary to play the game, but in the double match I was helped out and in the single match the guy I was playing [against] understood so he helped me out,” said Estrada.

Even though they lost Estrada was more excited than ever for the next match.

“The match was really fun even though we lost, but it’s made me more excited about the games in the future,” said Estrada.

Despite the fact the team lost the match, spirits are still high. As this means for many on the team-including Estrada- they just have to work harder to achieve their goal.
The next match the team faces is at 4:15, located at West Hills in Knoxville on the 8th of April.