Tennis has been a sport at Pine Creek for over 10 years, and with more players every year, the popularity has grown. Jason Warkentine, head coach, started coaching tennis after coaching wrestling for 13 years.”[Tennis] is a much more civilized sport, I’m not locked in a room, I get to be outside,” he said. He continued explaining that he felt the need to give something back to the community because, “I have been blessed and I needed to do something.” Tennis provides many players with a solo experience as well as being on a team. Gavin Harper (10) said he enjoys playing tennis. “I like how it’s a team but not a team, if I do bad, I do bad, if I do good, I do good, it makes me feel accomplished,” he said.  Throughout the season, players are able to improve their gameplay and show growth.

Many players are excited for the season with goals and expectations already set. Harper said, “my biggest goal is to better myself and become better.”  Players already have high hopes for the season, Alexander Gunderman (10) said, “I expect us to do really good this season, we have gotten a lot better.”  Nate Snider (11) and Lincoln Leap (11) who have both played since they were freshmen, continue to play because of the skills and atmosphere of the sport. Snider said, “You get good cardio, we always do cardio workouts, in matches you’re always running and going up and down.” Leap agreed, “It’s a fun environment, I can speak for Varsity [that] it’s not the most serious, JV might be more serious.” Gunderman said, “It’s a very fun atmosphere, everyone on the team is very chill, we have great coaches.”  The sport continues to have a fun atmosphere and helping build skills making many players keep returning year after year.

Many players recommended joining the sport, Gunderman said, “It’s a fun sport, good exercise, not complicated.” Tennis is a sport you can keep playing even after high school, CoaWarkentine said, “It’s a lifelong sport, it differs from wrestling [in that] you go out of high school, and you’re done. [With] tennis, you could be playing until you’re old.”