Last week the boys varsity roster journeyed all about the metro facing an onslaught of ferocious opponents, with the week starting down in Millard South, facing the familiar foe in unfamiliar territory and waltzing out with a near-perfect victory. The boys had no trouble imposing their will over the Patriots, coming away with eight out of the nine matches, an average margin of victory totaling over five points per match, and winning by a score of 24-4 in the top three singles matches. This utter competition domination was born from the ashes of defeat, a swift victory to juxtapose the crushing blow from their last outing.
In their first official meet against the juggernaut Lincoln East, a team currently seeking a fourth consecutive state championship, the boys were outclassed in every facet. They lost every single match on their home court, a devastating loss against a heated rival they were looking to best:
“They’ve only lost once in the past three years I believe, and so handing them that loss would be a huge win for us,” senior Ashton Rames speculated in a preseason interview. “We can hang with them, our best v.s. theirs, but were huge underdogs in every match,” Rames rationalized.”
Despite the blow of discouragement, the boys had no trouble rallying and redirecting their emotion into a huge bombshell victory. They kicked things off in their aforementioned Monday meet with the two young superstars, sophomore Troy Shefsky and freshman standout Haorong Li. The duo made quick work of Millard South’s senior counterparts, beating them 8-2 and setting the grand barrage of excellence in motion. The Westside doubles teams swept through Millard South’s crew and once singles were up to play, Ashton Rames set the tone for the one on ones, beating his matchup 8-2. From there, the boys only dropped one match, returning home with a newly dawned confidence, and a 2-1 record.
Throughout the busy week that ensued following the win, the team has competed every single day, with the hectic influx of matches proving fairly successful. The gauntlet began with the Millard South victory followed closely behind by a similar blowout against Elkhorn South, only dropping one match yet again. The crew struggled down the stretch in their triangular bouts facing Creighton Prep and Lincoln Southeast, but in the end they came away with valuable experience against tough competition and impressive wins from the top of the roster. They took said experience to heart when facing Burke last Thursday, winning in astounding fashion as the collective only gave up 2 points amidst the entire competition.
Their final meet of the long week took place Friday the 13th, an ominous date and one that couldn’t shake the team’s momentum as played incredibly. Despite the spooky situation of being without one of their top players, Haorong Li, the team still rocketed into second place, yet again falling only one spot behind Lincoln Southeast. Even though they didn’t pull out the win, coach Jesertiz believes the team remained more than impressive on the court.
“We were missing one of our best players in Haorong, and the team still showed out and had a great finish in a tough pool,” Jeseritz said.
The boys have truly been on a tear, taking lessons and victories day by day as they march on towards the midseason checkpoint. Monday, September 16th was the team’s latest meet in which they narrowly fell to Lincoln Southwest, but in doing so it allowed for great competitive experience to develop their top players. One notable win from the night came from the furious freshman, as Li took down a tough opponent at the No.1 singles position with a score of 8-6, one that his coach couldn’t be more proud of.
“Last night (Haorong Li) pulled off a really great win against a really great player at Lincoln Southwest and we’re really lucky to have him,” Jeseritz proclaimed. “He’s been having a great season and he’s got state finalist written all over him,” Jeseritz prophesized.
The boys remain at a positive record regardless of the recent loss, and look to draw from this momentum whilst continuing the trudge towards triumph. It has been a grueling week of nonstop action for the team, but their respective responses to the task at hand have proved rather impressive. Their next challenge as a collective falls Tuesday, September 17th at Elkhorn South, and the guys are primed for another great outing.
