Can the boys’ tennis team complete the three-peat? The boys’ varsity tennis team has won state two years in a row. Last year, they won the team and the individual state tournament. Although there’s pressure that comes from being two-time reigning champions, the Spartans don’t seem to be bothered by it.

“In general, there’s always pressure of winning the next title; however, this year, I believe that our team is just so talented, so full, that it might not be as much of a challenge as it was in previous years,” senior captain Maik Nguyen said.

One of the reasons why this year’s tennis team is so talented is because of the young and upcoming players. Some young players that Nguyen pointed out included eighth-grader Winston Arvidson, freshman Isaak Seneratna, and freshman Zahir Hassan. Hassan came third in singles in the spartans run in state last year.

The spartans are currently in the middle of sections, which drastically decreases the amount of time they get to practice together.

“Every practice kind of means more,” senior and captain Leo Benson said, “So, we definitely try to bring the intensity closer to sections and it’s a lot more competition focused rather than working on your actual technique or that sort of thing.”

The energy and work that the team puts into these final practices will help them in the state tournament. “I feel like because we’re in the middle of sections right now. We’re always just trying to stay one match at a time, one point at a time even,” freshman Zahir Hassan said.

As the team moves on from sections, they are going to need leaders who set the mentality for the tournament. Those leaders are Benson and Nguyen, last year’s doubles winners of the Class A state championship. Benson and Nguyen are already very accomplished, but one more state championship wouldn’t hurt.

“A lot of credit goes to them for helping everyone just feel like a family,” Hassan said. “And, if we’re going to lose, we’re all going to lose, no one person takes the blame for it.”

The mentality that the captains have instilled into this team is that the goal is to win the tournament but to not get too cocky along the way. This is important because the three-peat is far from guaranteed. “I definitely want to win this year because last year we sort of proved ourselves by winning both team and individual state. But this year, I just want to set our legacy,” Nguyen said.

Individual sections started Wednesday and continue through today.