The Barstow boys tennis team is looking ahead to a successful but challenging season as a new MSHSAA Class 3 team! After their three back-to-back trips to the Final Four in the state tournament, including the State Championship title in 2021, the association moved the team up to the tennis equivalent of a Class 6 slot (the largest class in high school sports under MSHSAA regulations) in other sports.
According to Head Coach Tom O’Brien, the boys are in a great position to be strong competitors and make it again to state this year.
The top of their lineup includes Sunny Gandhari ‘24, who has three consecutive final four appearances, Liam Groden ‘25 with two appearances, Shayan Ahmed ‘25, Sanjeev Adma ‘26, and Saam Biria ‘27. Ahraar Azaz ‘24, Ethan Kanarek ‘26, Aditya Rastogi ‘27, and Chetan Thomas ‘24 are competing for that valued 6th varsity spot.
“This is a good group with a nice mix of veterans and young talent. Almost our entire schedule is large class schools, including the very best on both sides of the state,” he explains. “I’m excited to watch our progress as the weeks roll on.”
This confidence in their abilities as a team lies in the players, too.
“We have a passionate team with a lot of energy and talent, so I’m excited to see what will happen,” adds Aditya Rastogi ‘27, a new freshman on the team this year.
“I’m feeling pretty confident about the season. We have a lot of potential,” agrees Shayan Ahmed ‘25, one of the veteran players on the team.
The boys focus on honing this potential during practices on the courts behind the gyms.
“Our practices focus first half on drills, reinforcing muscle memory and technique. The second half is usually doubles drills that emphasize movement and net aggressiveness, and the guys have been working hard,” says O’Brien.
Though we are fortunate to have our own courts here at Barstow for the tennis teams to practice on, they do present a couple challenges during practices. Coach O’Brien adjusts practice structure to accommodate these issues, though, and the boys have adapted well.
“Because of our limitations with only four courts, our singles work is limited, so we place a lot of our practice focus on doubles and the guys seem to be picking it up well this early in the season,” he explains.
Their hard work on the court isn’t the only thing that will help them achieve much-deserved success this season, though. The chemistry among players on the tennis team is strong, and the players create an environment that allows one another to grow as both players and as teammates.
“Our team chemistry is really solid. We all have a strong bond with each other, and we always try to help each other out and wish for each other to succeed,” says Rastogi. “I’ve never really seen the team spirit and bonding that high school sports teams have, so it’s super cool to be a part of that.”
Even the veteran players agree that the newcomers are fitting in well with the chemistry they’ve already formed as a team and only continue to add more to it.
“There’s a few new guys on the team, and so far they’re doing really well meshing with the rest of us,” Ahmed adds.
Pembroke and Rockhurst are among the matches that the boys are looking forward to competing against, but the state tournament is certainly what they’re focusing most of their goals towards.
“I’m super excited to play in Colombia, as well as the district and state championships. And, obviously, I’m excited to crush Pembroke,” says Rastogi.
Although the players are looking forward to these rivalry games, Coach O’Brien reminds them that the team walks into each match with an equal amount of passion for success.
“There’s not a single match that we place more emphasis on than any other, but we like to hit our stride during State tourney time. We use the regular season duals to work different doubles pairings as well as learn ‘how to compete’ in singles,” he explains.
Each one of their matches, win or loss, helps the team to build that momentum for the state tournament. Coach wants to emphasize the importance of heading into the tournament with a positive attitude, regardless of the season’s record.
“Our season record means very little, as our goal has always been to prepare for state tournament time, both as a team and individually,” he adds.
We wish the boys luck for all the upcoming matches on their schedule and to a successful run in the state tournament!
