Boys Tennis Headed to States After Regional Victory by Regan Faherty and Kamryn Simcox
For the first time in his high school career, senior Isaiah Lopez and the rest of the Melbourne High School boys tennis team headed to states—an incredible achievement that marks a major milestone for the program. After a season filled with determination, countless hours of practice, and hard-fought matches, the team secured their spot in the state tournament with a thrilling regional victory. The win represents not only their growth as athletes but also a turning point for Melbourne High tennis.
“This is the first time we have won since I started sophomore year,” Lopez said, reflecting on the team’s journey. For the seniors, especially, the moment was emotional. They’ve been part of rebuilding efforts, helping to shape a strong, united team culture over the past few years. That perseverance and leadership paid off this season, leading the Bulldogs to one of their most successful campaigns in recent memory.
Their efforts were made known through the morning announcements commemorating the accomplishment. To top off the unforgettable victory, the team celebrated in classic fashion—“we dumped a cooler of ice on our coach to celebrate our win,” said, Lopez. The moment captured the joy, camaraderie, and pride shared by the team as they etched their names into school history.
Junior Nathan Sullivan accompanied his teammates as they traveled to Orlando to compete against St.Thomas Aquinas. Sullivan was excited to see how far the team would make it and to be competing against great teams. "I am more excited than nervous because our tennis team is amazing and I’m excited to see how far we will go”, Sullivan said. To play such amazing competition you must stay in the right mindset and stay motivated. Sullivan stays motivated by staying determined and when he must finish what he started. This is a great mindset to have and to maintain throughout the post-season games to ensure you are staying on top of your game. “What I did to stay locked in was to keep practicing and practicing everyday, even if we didn’t have practice on that day, that’s what I believed helped get us this far," Sullivan said.
For junior Porter Twigg, who was also more excited than nervous to be this far, he believed this was a huge accomplishment for the team to make it to states. Twigg would take the extra practice in and out of the season to maintain his top skill and be ready for each season, that’s why he believed he was able to make it this far. Another reason he believes he was able to make it this far is staying calm. “I do breathing exercises along with not over thinking anything. Also just the thought of getting better and being an overall better tennis player motivates me to keep practicing and playing to the best of my ability”, Twigg said.
Both Twigg and Sullivan started playing for different reasons but each has made them fall in love with the sport and continue to pursue it. Sullivan stated it was his friends who had motivated him to start playing and actually convinced him to try out for the first time and has been playing ever since. For Twigg his parents brought it up as an idea in the past so he decided to give it a shot and has enjoyed playing it since, especially for them.
Photo by Lopez
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