Park boys tennis took on their rivals from across the highway on April 18, and faced challenging conditions against a good team. Ultimately, Park fell short to Benilde 5-2 on a very cold and windy day for this time of year, which made for a challenging match for both teams.
According to head coach Greg Holmbeck, bad conditions did play a factor in the loss against Benilde. Despite that, he said the team played well and rose to the occasion.
“Despite the fact that the weather was really tough — it was very windy, it was very cold — we played well, though you can’t expect to play your best in these types of conditions,” Holmbeck said.
Senior Josh Wickberg said he was disappointed in his performance during his match. According to Wickerberg, the conditions, along with his own play, frustrated him.
“Basically every shot I had I messed up; the wind was terrible so I couldn’t hit the ball well. I had a few games but that’s it,” Wickberg said.
Junior Max Przezdziecki said he was satisfied with his performance in his tennis match despite the less than ideal conditions.
“I am happy with my performance even though we lost,” Przezdziecki said. “I played pretty well despite the wind and cold.”
According to Wickberg, there is a lot that he can improve on. He said he needs to be more consistent with different kinds of shots.
“I could have played way better by being more consistent with my forehands and backhands,” Wickberg said.
Przezdziecki said looking forward, he wants to improve on specific things such as hitting more shots. Specifically, he said he wants to get to the net and hit more volleys.
“I hope to improve on getting up to the net, hitting more volleys and just having more control of my shots,” Przezdziecki said.
Holmbeck said the team performed better than they have in a long time against Benilde. He said this performance excites him and makes him hopeful for the team’s progress.
“We had our best performance against Benilde in some years, and I’m really happy with the progress that the team is making,” Holmbeck said.
The next varsity tennis match will be at 4:00 Apr 23 against Chaska at Park’s tennis courts.
