The tennis team managed to swing a podium position last week by placing third in the regional team tournament. The teams strong finish at the regional tournament in San Antonio was followed by their many victories in proceeding matches and tournaments. In the fall season teams accumulate points as a whole, while in the spring individuals can accumulate points based off their own personal results. This fall the team’s excellent track record and dedication allowed them to accumulate enough points for their third place finish.

“We had an awesome season this far. We worked super hard and it feels like all our hard work has finally paid off,” Brian Mulligan.

Tennis team members Dani Cuteri and partner Jordyn Kanak played line one doubles at the tournament and remained undefeated during the regional tournament. Even though the team placed third, Cuteri and Kanak had the potential of winning with their excellent performance. Along with this doubles team, many other tennis players stepped up to the plate and came away with a fair share of wins.

“Overall we played really awesome. It was a super hard tournament and I am just really proud of our team and to be apart of it. We really are like family and have too much fun joking around with each other, however when it was time to play I thought we stepped up,” Cuteri.

The intensity was exceptionally high when Sophomore Garrett Reiter was playing his match versus Bernie. This match would decided whether or not Vandegrift would move on in the competition. There was an outpouring of excitement from the team members and family members as they cheered on Reiter. After a very long battle between the two boys Reiter unfortunately lost in a third set tie break.

“The match between Reiter and the boy from Bernie was so intense. Honestly the line judges were making terrible calls not in our favor which really made us upset. Our team was going nuts cheering for Reiter, but just wasn’t enough to pull out a win,” Michael Floyd(team captain).

In the third round of the tournament the overall score was 9-10. The tennis team came up just short of advancing, while opening the door for Bernie and Alamo Heights to advance to the finals. In the end Vandegrift’s tennis fall season came to a nail biting close with a third place finish at regionals but also a first place victory at the district tournament.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the team. We fought hard and had a lot of fun doing it. We hope to have lots of Vipers advance individually in the spring season and are happy with how the season turned out,” Floyd.