By Nick Silva and Nicu Curtu

You may have noticed West High has rebuilt their tennis court this year. If you haven’t, you might not have known that the old courts were built the same year Neil Armstrong landed on the moon, 48 years ago, in 1969.

We talked to some players from the boys varsity tennis team to see what they think of the new courts and how it affects their playing styles, if at all.

The proverb “Out with the old, and in with the new,” fits very well with the new tennis facility. We asked Jack Wenzel ’19 for his opinion on the old courts, as well as the new ones. To Wenzel, the old courts are tied with the legacies of the players whose shoemarks were still on the surface of the courts last spring.

Wenzel is on varsity for the second year in a row. He says that the courts are “fantastic,” and that the new tennis facility is “one of the best in the state.”

Another player we interviewed on varsity is Sam Shin 19‘, who is also on his second year. He thinks that the new courts are fantastic, and they even have an accessory which is very beneficial to him, a phone charger. He sees the phone charger as one of the most beneficial improvements from last year. “The only difference between this year’s and last year’s courts is that it has a cleaner look, better condition, and I can charge my phone” Shin says. The old courts, to Shin, are tied to the memories he gained there. “I’m definitely going to miss the old courts. Every time I look at the remains of the old courts, I think of the great memories I had as a freshman playing on those courts”

Someone who hasn’t played on the old courts, and is new to high school tennis is Sanjeev Sarin 20‘. He recognizes how lucky he is to have new courts this year. “I think it’s great that the school has provided the team with the new courts for the season and the future.” Says Sarin. He also really likes the unity of the team, and says, “We are like one big happy family.”

As the Boys Varsity team got to enjoy the brand new West High tennis courts, the Junior Varsity team, until they start morning practice, has to practice at the City Park tennis courts. Those courts are good but they pale in comparison with the new West High courts. They take a considerable amount of time to get to. Getting from West High to the City Park courts takes about 25 minutes, including traffic and time spent leaving the parking lot at West.

As the new season begins to ramp up all we can do is sit back and watch, but many of West’s varsity players believe new surface will pave West’s way towards a successful season.