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“Even if you have the skills, you can’t win without the mentality,” junior singles player Alex Zhu said.
On May 13, the Cardinals could not pull another win at All-City because the pairings worked against the team’s favor and because of the overconfidence that members gained from winning the championship. Zhu lost to Galileo’s number one singles player, Juan Pablo Garcia. “I was satisfied with my win against him before,” Zhu said. “I lacked the spirit to win so I lost.” Doubles players senior Finnian Firth and junior William Zhu lost in three close sets, and placed third overall.
The team was disappointed by their loss at All-City after their sweeping win at the championship, as the boys had fought their way to the top and proved their strength on May 6 to conquer the strongest three schools. “We were not clear victors from the beginning but we’ve all improved and we came out on top,” junior number two doubles player William Zhu said.
Alex Zhu played against Garcia at the championship and pulled off a miraculous win that made the team cheer hysterically. During the season, Zhu had lost against Garcia and sought to gain revenge during the championship. “I just pulled myself up and cheered myself on,” Zhu said. “All I had to do was get into my opponent’s head.”
Coach Jimmy Rosenheim looked over the season’s turnout, appreciating how much the team has improved. “I’m really proud of our team,” Rosenheim said. “The team lost to Galileo 2-5 during the season and beat them 5-2 at the championship. This shows the growth of the team and shows that we extract the good from all situations.”
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, they will have to make their way up to the championship next year without their current coach. Rosenheim has coached both the girls’ and boys’ tennis teams at Lowell for three years, but will be leaving the team to earn his masters degree in clinical psychology. “I enjoyed being able to show high school students what I did in high school and watching them mature and grow on the court,” Rosenheim said. “As a coach I can guide them to explore sides and potentials they didn’t know existed before, but who knows what I will be doing in two years.”
Rosenheim is currently searching for a new tennis coach for the team. Initially, he hoped to leave the team with tennis coach Billy Ball who currently coaches at the University of San Francisco and also has coached top ranked juniors in the city. Ball is unfortunately unable to replace Rosenheim, so Rosenheim is now searching for somebody who is passionate and also a good player and qualified coach.
Most Valuable Player
The Lowell’s choice for MVP this year is junior singles player Alex Zhu. He has been challenged time and time again this year by going up against the top players from all over the state and the city. He has won all of his season games, except for his matches against two schools, including Balboa earlier in the season and Galileo’s number one singles player whom he ended up beating during the championship game. “Alex goes out there with a good mindset and plays a clean set every time,” junior doubles player Kameron Chang said.
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