MSJ Reaches NCS Quarterfinals After Undefeated League Season

By Staff Writer Praveen Nair

Boys’ Tennis completed a successful season on May 10, reaching the quarterfinal round of the NCS tournament before being defeated by Dougherty Valley High School. Before NCS, the team was also undefeated in MVALs, winning the championship for the first time since the 2014-15 season.

In the previous two seasons, Boys’ Tennis had placed second in the league to James Logan High School. This season, the team was finally able to prevail over the formidable Logan team, winning both matches against them on the way to an unprecedented undefeated league season.

In addition to the team success, Seniors Jae Kim and Dustin Do received League MVP honors, while Senior Abhinav Gopal and Junior Gautam Gudavalli earned the title of MVAL Doubles Champions.

At NCS, Boys’ Tennis first matched up against Monte Vista High School on May 8. After four singles matches and three doubles matches, they emerged victorious by a score of 4-3, splitting the singles matches and winning two out of three doubles matches.

Next, they faced Dougherty Valley High School from San Ramon, which had earned a 14-2 record in the East Bay Athletic League. In singles, Dougherty Valley was able to win all four matches, while MSJ took two of the three doubles contests. Ultimately, Dougherty bested MSJ, winning 5-2 overall.

“[MSJ was] a couple games from advancing from there. Unfortunately, Dougherty Valley pulled it out at the end. Dougherty Valley is a really strong team and they made it to the finals at NCS,” said Boys’ Tennis Coach Mike Jan. Eventually, Redwood High School defeated Dougherty Valley to win the NCS tournament.

Despite the recent end of the season, Boys’ Tennis is already looking to improve various aspects of the team’s performance. Jan said, “Advancing to the quarterfinals means that we’re one of the top teams in NCS. MSJ has a highly respected tennis program, and our accomplishments this season prove that we still have it! We have a ton of sophomores on our squad, so we can only go up from here.”

Photos courtesy Jerry Qin