The Plano men’s tennis team won their second straight match on Sept. 5 by beating Mckinney with a total score of 16-3.

      The men started off strong, jumping out to a big lead early, and continued the high level of play throughout the rest of the match. The team dominated both the doubles and singles parts of the match.

“We got off to a great start in the doubles part of the match, which is always important, and we did well cutting down on unforced errors,” Coach Cliff Lazarine said.

The blowout win was the second match of the season for the currently undefeated Wildcats with their record at 2-0.

“The most important part of the win was the new freshman players, who have made our work ethic better, and performed well,” junior Josh Babu said.

The effect of the freshman was apparent on the court because the team was playing with an intensity that showed their passion, and how much they wanted to win that game.

“We want to win every game, and make the playoffs,” junior Jordan Rod said.

The team is setting the bar high for the rest of the year, and this big win over Mckinney should certainly help build momentum into the rest of the season, and help the team accomplish both of those goals.

   “We are trying to position ourselves for one of the top seeds in the District Tournament,” Lazarine said.

It would make things much easier for the Wildcats if they were a top seed was accomplished, as they would be playing several of the worst teams in the district first, such as Wylie.

“The team is prepared to practice long and hard,” Rod said. They want to keep up this high level of play.

Plano is in one of the toughest districts in the state, which includes the three biggest high schools in the state Plano West, Plano, and Allen.

“Our schedule is really tough this year, but we’ll give it our all no matter what,” Rod said,

They will not give up no matter how tough the road ahead is. The next stretch of games should be very difficult as they play two of their toughest opponents in Allen and Plano West, but the team is very confident in their abilities and their work ethic.

   “We will continue working hard every day on fundamentals, and trying to play good tennis with good shot selection and few unforced errors,” Lazarine said.

He hopes to keep his team in great shape going forward to keep their play at a high level for the rest of the year.