By Matthew Nguyen
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020-21 MHS boys’ and girls’ tennis teams will be merged into the same season, according to the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF).
The boys’ and girls’ tennis teams are both scheduled to play during the same season, Milpitas High Athletics Director Joanna Butcher said via email. All tennis teams will be Season Two sports, and official practices will start on Feb. 22, while official contests will start on March 8, and the Central Coast Section (CCS) finals will be on May 29, Butcher added.
“Season 2 sports WILL be practicing or participating in contests over Cesar Chavez [weekend], Spring Break, AP Testing, Memorial Day [weekend], graduation week, and potentially after the last day of school,” Butcher said via email. “Some teams will be practicing by 6 a.m. before school or after 7 p.m. on school nights due to facility constraints and the amount of teams that are in season at one time. Some teams that may be a no-cut sport may have to have a team maximum depending on our athletic space or county/state/district regulations. We will announce this prior to the start of each season.”
The tennis courts will be extremely crowded if all the tennis teams play in the same season, Junior tennis player Emma Kurcina said in a Zoom interview. MHS has eight tennis courts, four tennis teams, and about 12 players per team, Kurcina added. Putting so many people in one place increases the risk of someone getting the virus, Kurcina further added. In addition, there are a limited number of tennis balls since the players provide the tennis balls and not the school, Kurcina said. Some players may even need to sit out because of the limited amount of space and tennis balls, Kurcina said.
“I was really surprised when I first found out we were going to play in the second season at the same time as the boy’s tennis teams,” Kurcina said. “I find it interesting that a non-contact sport like tennis was pushed into the second season while a contact sport like football was only pushed into the first. High contact sports like football put players at much more risk of getting the coronavirus compared to non-contact sports like tennis. It does not really make sense to me, but I understand football is a much more popular sport compared to tennis and will get priority.”
MHS has one varsity and one junior varsity team for both male and female players; all these teams will be playing during the same season, Junior tennis player Corey Chen said in a Zoom interview. Each of the four tennis teams will probably have to occupy two of the eight tennis courts, Chen said. Before the pandemic, one tennis team used about three to four courts, so it will be very crowded if all four teams practice together, Chen added.
“Although the courts may be crowded, I think this is the best the CIF could have done given the situation at hand,” Chen said. “Yeah, there are a limited amount of tennis balls, but that just means that players have to stop and pick up the balls more often. I have no problem with combining all the tennis teams together. I think we can make it work as long as social-distancing protocols are followed.”
Safety should be the first priority, Kurcina said. As long as everyone complies with the social-distancing protocols, there should be no issues, Kurcina added. If everyone stays strong and disciplined, sports like tennis will eventually come back to in-person, Kurcina further added.