After years of losses, the Baldwin boys tennis team made history this year by reaching the WPIAL playoffs.
Junior team Co-President Hayden Swanson said the team was happy with the results of this season.
“It felt good because we won, like, zero games for two years in a row,” Swanson said. “We got pretty hype, got some congratulations, and we were all pretty excited.”
Junior Carter Smeal said the team was excited and proud of their progress.
“It was incredible to be able to make the playoffs,” he said. “I think the aspect of it being the first time in a while definitely added some weight to it.”
Freshman Brandon Esek says one of his favorite matches was against North Allegheny in the first round of the playoffs, despite the Highlanders losing.
“We went in with a mindset of going in and having fun,” Esek said.
Some of the season’s most notable matches were against Thomas Jefferson and Shaler.
“Our best game was against TJ. They were a pretty good game, and we didn’t expect to beat them, but we did,” Swanson said. “We also had a really close match with Shaler, who usually beats us by a lot.”
Junior Nikita Petruk agreed.
“I thought I was going to lose my game against TJ, but it was a pretty close game and I won,” Petruk said.
Smeal said his favorite match of the season was against West Mifflin because the whole team played strong. It was also one of the first 5-0 wins the team had earned in a while.
Overall, their games were just a lot closer this season compared to previous years, Swanson said. The players also saw individual improvement.
“Nikita had a fantastic season and really raised his level compared to last,” Smeal said. “He really showed why he’s one of the best in our section and put together a really strong season.”
Smeal said that one of his favorite memories was watching Petruk win one of his matches at section championships.
“He played a very long and entertaining match that he ended up winning,” he said.
Overall, looking back on the season, Esek said the team outdid their expectations.
“I don’t know if we expected to go to the playoffs, but it’s great we ended up there,” Esek said.
The team is mainly made up of upperclassmen, so they expect to lose a lot of members next year. Esek hopes they can recruit new freshmen.
“Half of our team is leaving, so it’s going to be difficult. But I hope we can still get more members,” Esek said.
