WICHITA, Kan.—
After a successful start to their season, the Wichita East boys’ tennis team has struggled to put wins together. The Aces opened the season with a 5-4 win over Wichita Heights. Seniors Alex Hwu and Hank Mamalis both won their matches in two. Junior Thomas Papadatos as well as sophomore Ryan O’Neal also won their singles matches in two sets.
On the doubles side, the East duos of Hwu/O’Neal and Mateen Shah/Papadatos both lost while the team of freshman Henry Gridley/Mamalis won in two sets.
“The match against Heights was a confidence boost,” said Hwu. “We went out and saw that we could win and we needed that.”
The Aces followed the win with losses to Wichita Bishop Carroll, Wichita Northwest, Wichita Kapaun Mt. Carmel and a win against Wichita North.
“We faced a tough streak against Northwest, Carroll and Kapaun,” said Hwu. “We lost our focus a bit and didn’t play to our potential.”
The Aces will look to finish out the season playing the best tennis they’re capable of. With four matches left in their City League schedule before the GWAL tournament, East will have a chance to reset their focus and prepare for post-season play.
“If we keep our focus we can win our next four matches,” said Hwu. “We just need to keep our confidence and play to our level.”
The Aces next match will be against Wichita West and will be held at 4 p.m. Apr. 16 at Wichita West.
