OTHELLO – The Othello Huskies tennis team faced off against Toppenish on Monday afternoon, with the boys winning 3-2. The Othello girls went 2-3, giving the girls their first loss of the season. 

“Weather was super crummy, extremely windy, raining on and off,” said Huskies boys coach Caleb Tovar. “It really came down to which team was able to adapt the quickest and play in that kind of an environment.” 

Huskies boys were caught off guard by Toppenish’s decision to switch the lineup and combine their two singles players together to make a stronger doubles team. Toppenish was able to beat the Huskies' number one doubles team, but the two singles and number two doubles teams came out on top to earn the boys the victory, he said. 

The coach said he was particularly proud of his number two doubles team made of four-year senior Ernesto Duran and sophomore Jace Ritchie, who is in his first year on the team. 

The biggest lesson that came out of Monday’s game for the Huskies boys was to never underestimate anybody, he said. 

 “It’s just knowing that any day, anything can happen,” said Caleb. “Just because you’ve beaten them before doesn’t mean you’re going to beat them again.” 

The Huskie girls had confidence going into their matches against Toppenish after playing them before, but ultimately were unable to adjust to the weather conditions, said Huskies girls coach Priscilla Tovar. 

The girls' singles players rallied and fought but were unable to win their matches and the girls' number one doubles were upset, giving them three losses. The number two and three doubles were still able to pick up wins for the Huskies, giving them the results of the 2-3 loss. 

“We just fell flat,” said Priscilla Tovar. “It was tough, but I mean the better team won so they were very deserving.” 

Priscilla said the key thing the team should take out of this game is the reminder of how much tennis is a mental game. She said the team might be strong physically, but it is just as important that the team grows mentally. 

“When things aren’t going your way, you have to overcome,” she said. “I hope they learn from this loss that if they can get through that, they could overcome anything.” 

The Huskies tennis teams are looking to prepare for their next match against Prosser coming up after spring break. The coaches thought one of the biggest issues holding back their players was their footwork, said Priscilla Tovar. 

“We just want to do more agility drills, condition the players,” she said. “We have a lot of players standing flat and just their reaction time is just off.” 

On top of this, Caleb Tovar said the Huskies will still just continue working on honing their serves and continuing volleys. They will also focus on working on their double movements, he said. 

The Huskies will be on the road to face Prosser on April 15 at 3 p.m. 

    Othello’s Miguel Vilchis stretches for the ball.