As Juniors Chris Lai and Johnny Wang battle fatigue, pressure and the fast serves of fierce competitors; tennis Coach Savay Lieu walks over to give them words of encouragement during a changeover. The season is at stake, but Lieu retains his calm demeanor.
With a record of 5-3, the tennis team ended the season at the Rio Hondo League Finals, a bracket of the 16 best doubles teams in the league, where fifth seeded Lai and Wang fought their way into the semi-finals against the familiar foes of San Marino and La Cañada.
At the tournament, Lai and Wang easily handled South Pasadena’s doubles team and upset the third seed from La Cañada in the second round, relying on their experience as longtime doubles partners.
“Chris and I have been partners ever since we started tennis at age nine, so our communication with each other is great,” Wang said. “We were able to beat them because they were singles players playing doubles, so they weren’t used to it.”
Following the upset, they lost to a duo from San Marino in the semi-finals. They then narrowly lost to another San Marino doubles team in the third place playoff.
The team began the year looking to place second in the Division I of the Rio Hondo League, despite the loss of graduates and seniors. Due to the lack of prominent singles players, Coach Lieu had to assemble his players on doubles to catch opponents off guard.
“Without our seniors, our team is really undersized,” Lai said. “We lost a lot of star power, and we had to stack doubles against good teams.”
Their goal seemed reachable until they bested La Canada 11-7, but lost the season tie breaker by one game. For the players, it was the end of the season, but for Coach Lieu, it was the end of an era.
Coach Lieu has been leading the tennis program since 1998. He has seen players come and go, riding with the ups and downs of the team. His encouragement and knowledge of the game, however, remain a part of his signature coaching style.
“He knows other teams’ weaknesses,” Lai said. “He’s our motivational leader. He picks us up when we feel down, so we tried our best to let him go out with a bang.”
As the tennis team moves forward, they are unsure of who will take over the coach position, but they will surely remember highlights of the season, such as Lieu’s stern but subtle grin as he watches his players make the most of their abilities on the court.