Menlo’s boys tennis team kicked off their weekend on March 15 at the renowned All-American Invitational Boys High School Tennis Tournament, securing third place with a 3-1 record overall in their 24th appearance at the competition.

Due to heavy rain on Friday in the Southland, the team had to play all four rounds of matches, shortened to one set, on Saturday at Redondo Union and Palos Verdes High Schools. The Knights beat Santa Margarita Catholic High School 6-0 in the first round, then Palisades Charter High School 5-1, but fell to the reigning state champion, University High School, for the third year in a row in the semifinals. However, they fought back strongly, defeating Memphis University School 4-2, securing third place. 

Sophomore Surya De Datta explained the effects the one-day tournament had on the team. “The shortened format due to the rain definitely pushed players to have to be firing from all cylinders from the get-go. But, we’re going to learn from the loss by analyzing what we need to do in clutch situations like this,” De Datta wrote to The Coat of Arms.

Despite not reaching their goal of winning the tournament, the team still had lots of fun off the court by going to Topgolf and enjoying each other’s company. Senior Kavan Kumar reveals the best parts of the trip were not the matches but rather the time the team spent together. “The best parts of the trip were not just the intense matches against SoCal teams, but spending time with those around me—bonding with the team and genuinely becoming closer friends,” Kumar said.