With the new school year, fall sports are in full swing. While much of the focus may be on the football team, one sport that’s making headlines is the tennis team. The tennis team has high expectations for this year as last year they were one point away from making states. A main contributor for the recent successes for the team is senior Donovan Nguyen. Donovan has been on the varsity team for four years. Nguyen has been playing tennis for most of his life and has made states for the past three years.

“Being on the team is great and a nice change for me,” Nguyen said. “For me, it has always been just me playing tennis by myself for most of my life.”

Nguyen is a strong competitor, but this season, he’s been battling a wrist injury. Nevertheless, that hasn’t stopped him from competing, as one game this season, he played with one hand. Before a game against Henry Ford II High School, Nguyen had to get a shot on his dominant hand, which he was unable to use during the match. Nguyen ended up winning the match, despite only playing with one hand. Playing with his non-dominant hand, Donovan had to serve underhand.

“I was really proud of Donovan,” coach Annmarie Michols said. “It just proves how great of a talent he really is.”

Nguyen is currently ninth in the state for tennis during his senior year. Nguyen was able to compete in the state competition during his tenure on the tennis team. During his freshman year, me made it to the round of 32. Following his freshman year, he was able to improve on his previous record and made the round of 16 his sophomore and junior years. With his last year of high

school tennis, he’s optimistic on making it far. “I obviously want to win the whole thing,” Nguyen said. “But a more realistic goal would be making it to the semifinals.”

“Donovan is a great tennis player,” junior Patrick Capo said. “No matter the situation, he’s always working hard.”

Although Donovan has been to the state competition three years in a row, the team also hopes they’ll be able to compete with him this year. The team has high expectations as they only had one loss during the regular season.