When you think of sports, you think of cutthroat competition. The Boulder High Tennis team is different. A no-cut team, the environment is friendly and fun. I met up with the team on a Tuesday in early April. At the beginning of practice, girls excitedly found their friends and paired off to play singles or doubles matches with them. Starting late February and ending in May, the tennis season is short but intense, with practice every school day and games every Tuesday and Thursday.
For some, tennis is a sport they start later in their high school careers. Sienna Lannin, ‘25, and Sylvia Pew, ‘26, had never played tennis before this year, but they are already loving it. Lannin said, “I’m a senior and this is my first year. I’m loving it.”
Ellie Norris ‘26 and Amiya Vashi ‘25 both love the community tennis provides, even if it’s only for a few months of the year. Vashi has played tennis all four years of high school. She began playing when she was young and wanted to have the same community in high school. As one of the three captains, she helps organize team bonding events and takes photos for their Instagram. The hardest part of tennis for her is starting at the beginning of the season after not playing since the previous May. Her teammates keep her motivated, “It’s a really fun environment and it’s kind of casual, so it’s not too stressful.”
The girls also love their coaches: Elizabeth Korevaar, Ronnie Myers, and Nick Salazar. Head Coach Korevaar has been coaching for 11 years. She began in San Francisco as a badminton coach alongside being a Wall Street trader. When she moved to Colorado, she stopped working and began playing tennis. Assistant coach Myers said, “I was on the Boulder High tennis team, and it was great. I still have two of my best friends who were on the team with me, so I love it and have great memories from it.” Myers has been coaching here for four years and says her favorite part is watching the kids grow and change throughout high school, and sometimes continue tennis in college.
Nick Salazar has been an assistant coach for seven years. He “[loves] coaching because of [his] love for the game”. He says that even though coaching can be a repetitive pattern of saying things like “Go back to the baseline or keep your head up, or follow through, or keep your eye on the ball,” it is a “good thing because hopefully, my voice stays in their heads for the rest of their lives when they play, you know, they’re not always gonna have coaches but they’ll remember the coaching.”
Tennis has a wonderful community and a fun but short season. Girls join to be with their friends or for a fun source of exercise. Go watch some games and support the wonderful people who make up the BHS tennis team!
