A team that has recently won multiple state championships, men’s tennis, has started up again and is looking to complete yet another successful season under coach Mr. Ryan Teague.

Although the team has exceeded their already high expectations for this season, they have a different look after losing  James Baron, who graduated last year and is now playing for Christopher Newport University.

“Yeah, it definitely sucks that we lost James, but we have some other guys on the team, like Paul (James’ little brother) who can pick up the slack that James left behind,” said Shreyas Gullapalli (11).

The Titans tennis team opened the season undefeated, only recently losing to Blacksburg on April 27^th. This has opened up the conversation for a 2018 state title coming to Hidden Valley High School.

“We genuinely believe that a good showing in states is achievable this year because we’ve worked very hard on our craft over the past few months and I expect it to show in the postseason,” said Gullapalli (11).

While this season is underway, the underclassmen must still work towards the future, as true dynasties are consistently great. This may be tough, as one of the team’s leaders and captains, Paul Baron, is graduating this fall and making his way to Christopher Newport University to play alongside his brother.

“It’s going to be tough, but it always is when a team gets a new look. Paul is a difference-maker, but we’re sure that if we continue to work over the summer and continue to get better, we’ll find another difference-maker, whether it be a rising senior or someone else,” said Gullapalli (11).

As the tennis team continues another phenomenal season, students at Hidden Valley should be proud that we have arguably the best team in the region and are ultimately striving for a state ring.