ROSTER
Coach: Wendell Pierce
Got very limited roster data (height, middle school, player comp.)
Aman Dhillon ‘23
Sean Alster ‘24
Hargobind Bal ‘24
Julian Chen ‘24
Peter (Jayk) Chen ‘24
Axel Hanley ‘24
Aarav Jolly ‘24
Caetano de Figueiredo ‘25
Tiago de Figueiredo ‘25
William Evans ‘25
Auden Flores ‘25
Brendan Long ‘25 (5’ 6”, Dorris-Eaton)
Rupin Sawhney ‘25 (5’ 9”, Dorris-Eaton, Rohan Bopanna)
Marcus Gallardo ‘26
Kai Savage ‘26
Exited Senior (Class of 2022):
Niles Fitzgerald
Elliot Beamer
Ryan Chan
SCHEDULE
Season Scores Recap:
Berkeley L, Bishop O’Dowd L, James Logan L, San Domenico W, Bentley W, Head Royce L
2-4 overall record
Rivalry Games:
Athenian - away (4/12), Athenian - home (4/14), Head Royce - away (4/21)
The remaining home schedule (non-rivalry):
Bentley (3/24), St. Joseph’s (4/19)
Home Location: Chabot Canyon Racquet Club
TEAM INSIGHT
Aman Dhillon is the lone senior captain of the College Prep Men’s Tennis team for this 2023 spring season. In his four years at the school, Aman has ingrained his name into history, playing a key role in the Cougars’ NCS soccer championship in the fall. Aman, a dual-sport athlete, considers soccer his number one sport but has always managed to come back to tennis in the springtime, even at a time when there are no other class of 2023 members alongside him.
“All four years have been a great community,” said Aman in an interview as he reminisced on his tennis career.
Aman describes tennis team culture as very lighthearted—a group of guys who play without the weight of pressure on their backs, just having fun. It’s this type of atmosphere that keeps Aman, and the many other players on this team that don’t consider tennis as their first sport, on the team.
This year’s tennis roster is pretty similar in dynamics to what it was last year. Although some seniors left in the offseason, junior star player Sean Alster remains atop the team ladder playing one singles. Sean, with textbook tennis fundamentals, has true top-of-the-league type talent which gives him an honest chance to beat anyone he faces. Following Sean comes Aman at two singles, and sophomore talent Rupin Sawhney at three singles. Rounding out the team’s singles players is Jayk Chen, a junior who Aman feels has made major strides since last season.
“From last year, I think Jayk has improved a lot,” states Aman, explaining how Jayk started the 2022 season playing doubles and progressively climbed the ladder to now be playing singles in his junior year.
Whether it’s been staying after practice to work on skill development in small groups with coaches, or just being more serious throughout practice sessions, Jayk has put in the work, and it’s really paying off on the court.
Jayk’s journey really characterizes what it takes to be successful at the high school level in tennis. In a sport that is so skill-based, it’s hard to be perfect, and often, Aman finds it’s rather about “who makes the least mistakes”. Winning a match is less about personal skill, and rather about honing in on your opponent’s weaknesses and trying to stay consistent. Sometimes it truly can be that simple. At the end of the day, you just have to do more things right than your opponent to win a match (or fewer things wrong).
So in a year where talent may not be at an all-time high, the Cougars will still look to have fun, stay consistent, and see how far that can take them.
My prediction? The Cougars win a majority of their league games, and eventually, make their way back to BCL championships where they fall to Head Royce. Don’t underestimate what this team can become.