The Green Hope men’s tennis program has been on an incredible run with a 14-0 conference record and an overall record of 15-1. Their lone loss was to Cary Academy, who are second in the NC NCISAA Class I.
The team started their season off by winning their first three games 9-0; sweeping Middle Creek on Feb. 26, Holly Springs on Feb. 28 and Leesville on Feb. 29.
The team won the SWAC championship going 14-0, leading to their seventh straight conference championship. Throughout this run, Jimin Jung (‘24), Brij Bhatt (‘25), Aidan Xu (‘25), Stephen Gervase (‘26), Vivek Indlamuri (‘25) and Madeshan Muruganandam (‘26) all qualified for regionals.
“The season is going amazing so far. We’ve gone undefeated in our conference and all of our players qualified to regionals in the individual tournaments. In this season I’m hoping to accomplish my main goal of winning the individual state title, [while also] winning the team title,” said Jung.
The team is intensifying their training regimen for playoffs. Jung stated, “Our practices are mainly point play-based, where everybody on the team hits with another player and competes against them. It really helps with putting us into real match-like scenarios, and also improves my awareness on the court. The players also have opportunities to get higher on the line-up through challenge matches where they challenge a person higher on the team compared to them.” Co-captain Bhatt said, “My goal as a player is to win states, as well as win regional and win states individually as well as a team.”
Falcons tennis fosters communication, trust and brotherhood among teammates. The team has a competitive spirit, and a strong bond to face the playoffs with confidence. “My favorite part of being on the team at Green Hope is spending time with the guys and my coach. I’ve developed a strong connection to many of my teammates and Coach Jones has helped me in many ways I didn’t think was possible before this season,” says Jung.
Xu says how, “[My] favorite part of the team is eating out and simply enjoying each other’s presence, and also trying new foods with the guys was a wonderful experience. Also, having close matches was one of the reasons I loved the team so much, teammates were cheering me on, and a nail-biting game gave me the extra kick to play my best.
As the Green Hope men’s tennis team heads to playoffs, players are working towards the state championship. The Falcons now look forward to their future successes.
