For the first time in three years boys tennis is finally going to make its grand return home to Rangeview on Thursday August 28th, where they will take on Denver South in their first official matches on their brand new tennis courts. Returning Coach Phillip Elbein stated, “for the last 2 years we traveled every day to Gateway. A lot of these players that stuck with us for one or two years having to ride a bus everyday.”
Along with their fresh new courts the boys tennis team has welcomed plenty of new faces to the team, as Coach Elbein said, “The last two years, we’ve lost seniors and this year we definitely have an amazing group of returners.” The boy’s tennis team has nearly doubled in numbers since 2023.
While there are plenty of new faces, there are also many returning players, One such player is Senior Gabriel Silva, who is entering his 3rd year of playing tennis here at Rangeview, and he had nothing but praise for his fellow teammates, “I’ve seen a lot of improvement from Nathan and Tomas, like in their first years, they were slightly struggling and I see that they are starting to grow and show improvement.”
Like many other tennis players here at Rangeview, this will also be Gabriel’s first time playing his home matches, on his actual home turf, “It’s so much more easier [Not having to play away from Rangeview] …the courts feel like a nice refresh”
Coach Elbein is excited to watch his players continue to grow not only as players but as leaders. “Seeing players take that leadership role and just seeing…them continue to love the sport…it brings me a lot of joy,” he stated.
And last but certainly not least, could we be seeing a deep playoff run from the Raiders later this year? “ Our goal every year at regionals is to play late, and challenge deep. We see some pretty tough teams at that, but our goal is for them to bring out their best,” stated Coach Elbein.
The boy’s tennis team hopes to take the next step and have a season to remember on their brand new courts.
