The boy’s tennis team at William Henry Harrison High School has set a shining example for aspiring athletes everywhere. Their remarkable comeback serves as a reminder that with dedication, teamwork, and unwavering belief, anything is possible on the court.
For the first time in SWOC Boys Tennis history, The Harrison Wildcats and the Talawanda Braves both earned a share of the 2024 SWOC Boys Tennis Championship. Behind all of the tournaments, greatness occurs through hard practice and diligence. Junior tennis player Keagan Lockhardt, says, “Normally we practice Monday through Thursday for around 2 hours unless there is a match. Many of us also play on weekends or Fridays on our own for various amounts of time.” Tennis requires a lot of patience and skill sets that not everyone can obtain. As bystanders, many often overlook how hard the sport of tennis truly can be.
While the boy’s tennis team started with a rough season, they continued to put their all into changing the season around. On a normal Saturday at Western Brown, the boys decided this was the day a comeback was intact. This Saturday was the very match that turned everything around for them, continuing to bring the score up. In the final moments of the match, the team’s hard work and perseverance paid off as they clinched a stunning victory against all odds. Although the boys took a loss in the next match against St. Xavier, since then, they have taken nothing home but wins. Boys varsity currently has a record of 5-8.
Achievement of winning comes from individuals who work together to contribute as a whole. Good athletes make goals, but great ones achieve them as well. Senior Nathan Layton states, “A personal goal I have before the season ends is to win at first or second doubles in the coaches classic tournament and to go undefeated against Catholic schools.” For Nathan, one of the special moments he has encountered these past two years included the winning on his senior night. During senior night, Nathan Layton and Mason Fisher were the only individuals to beat St. Xavier. This is one of the many examples of how the boys’ tennis team at WHHHS works hard to achieve success, bringing this season to a great end.
