The Baldwin boys varsity tennis lost its first match against Upper Saint Clair on Tuesday, 5-0.
Junior Kelson Kleinhampl thought he and his doubles partner, sophomore Hayden Swanson, played well, but USC had some excellent players.
“We tried to do the best we could because the people we were facing had insane serves that we really couldn’t hit,” Kleinhampl said.
“We need to move to the net more, chase the ball better, and we also need to respond to our serves better,” Kleinhampl said.
Swanson agrees the team has some work to do.
“We need to work on getting to the ball quicker,” Swanson said.
They agreed, though, the team’s serving skills have improved.
“All of our serves have been really good. None of us double-faulted or anything like that,” Kleinhampl said.
Although the Highlanders lost, they managed to stay strong and keep their spirits up.
“Tennis can be an aggressive sport, so to have played well against a team who is competitive is impressive in my opinion,” Kleinhampl said. “We might’ve lost the game, but we haven’t lost our spirit.”
Overall, the team played better in the singles games.
Kleinhampl and Swanson both agree that sophomore Nikita Petruk stood out on their team.
“He lasted the longest out of all the matches,” Swanson said.
Baldwin’s next game is today against Fox Chapel.
