On Friday, March 3rd, all the Raptor tennis players got together for a mixed doubles social, and let’s just say things got pretty interesting. The goal of the tournament is to raise money for the amhs booster club and have a good time. The girls’ tennis team has made quite an impression on our community, while the boys’ team remains largely a mystery. The boys have zero social media presence and no cuts so there are 20 mysterious players on the team. Combining these two groups for some mixed doubles matches is definitely a recipe for some friendly competition

The Teams

Senior Laura Robertson took the liberty of creating all the teams. She claims she carefully studied both lineups to create random but “fair” teams. Sophomore Chloe Trowman had something to say about the pairings. She verbally harassed Laura, trying to manipulate her way into a stacked team. Laura refused to stand for this foul play. “ I am just trying to get my girls on the court for some fair matchplay. I do not tolerate any stacking.”

Despite some opposition, Laura was finally able to compose the teams. 

Pierson Tran and Lane Yarborough 

Charlie Clause and Clifflie Manuel 

Addie Utsey and Walker Bauknite 

Chase Roberts and Wren Allen 

Moyu Yamaguchi and Rutledge Sander 

Spence Cox and Laura Robertson 

Mary Blake Hand and John McQueen 

Sophia Easterbrook and Henry 

Chloe Trowman and Luke 

Maria Cymbaluk  and Riley Shelley

Wow, certainly some interesting pairs. 

How it Works

This mixed doubles tournament is round-robin style with 4 game short sets to keep things moving. The intent is for there to be no overall winner, only some fun mixed doubles point-play. The fact that there was no winner did not stop the raptors from competing their hardest. Junior Addie Utsey remakred on the high tensions during the tournament saying, “you could hear a pin drop.” I can attest that there was minimal conversation. The raptors mixed double social is NO place to mess around. 

The Spread 

Coaches Justin B. Jones and Hewitt Strange ensured that no box was left unchecked. These two promised a snow cone truck, homemade cake pops, and a plethora of drinks for all the players involved. Hopefully, Coach Strange grills up some of his famous burgers. Chloe Trowman LOVES burgers and she claims she can “mess up a burger.” 

The players were delighted by the intricate spread created by Coach Strange and his family including popcorn, cookies, and cake pops that definitely lived up to the hype. Coach Strange’s son Henry played a crucial role in the spirits of the tournament with his most famous comment, “Do you want to come to my party?” Thanks to Henry’s preparations, this was certainly a party to remember. Senior Walker Bauknight and Henry forged a special bond as seen in this picture. Walker says, “I met a great child named Henry. We played tag for about five minutes in which he chased me around. Henry ate a lot of watermelon so he had a lot of energy.” 

A Family Divided 

Dark horse and freshman, Thomas Nguyen, took the boys’ team by storm and will undoubtedly take the number one spot from senior Pierson Tran. Interestingly enough the two players are cousins. Will Pierson and Thomas be able to put their differences aside in the name of family? We certainly hope so or this could put a serious dampener on the raptors boys’ dynamic. 

Some uplifting thoughts

Not every raptor got carried away by the competition. Lady raptor Laura Robertson said that “the tournament was a great time to practice point-play, especially doubles which usually is not my forté.” Senior Pierson Tran also enjoyed his time on the court saying, “my matches were filled with unbelievable points. I had a very chill time.” It is refreshing to hear how chill Pierson’s experience was because not all the raptors can say the same. 

Competitive Chloe 

Sophomore Chloe Trowman is notoriously competitive and suffers from a severe case of “rage issues.” During an intense match with Sophia Easterbrook and Charlie Clause, Chloe actually smashed her racket on the ground. Due to her intense anger and beating her racket several times on the hard court, Chloe’s Wilson Blade is beyond repair because the structural integrity was demolished. Poor Chloe. Her not getting any famous Coach Strange burgers likely contributed to this incident. 

Sophia Easterbrook Trash-Talking Incident

If you have met freshman Sophia Easterbrook, you are likely more than aware that she says what’s on her mind. Sophia was particularly passionate about taking down her rival, Chloe Trowman, during the tournament. Sophia was eager to put Chloe in her place and Chloe claims, “Sophia was coming for my neck with the trash-talk.” Oh no. Will this fight jeopardize the amhs varsity team’s dynamic next fall? Only time will tell. The team lost 6 seniors this year and Chloe and Sophia are some of the few underclassmen who remain. 

Utter Chaos 

Not every moment of the tournament went exactly as planned. At one moment, Lane Yarboughoch found herself in the mix of a five v. four battle on the tennis court, where all the rules of tennis flew out the window in the name of the raptors. Wren Allen reported that her partner, John McQueen also took an unorthodox approach to doubles and he had some “signature tennis poses that were hard to forget.” Not exactly sure what Wren means by this, but this sounds interesting. A senior reported that on her court, they decided to just play King of the Court and not even complete the match! The chaos of the tournament did not stop the raptors from having an awesome time. 

Lane Yarborough Love Interest 

My sources tell me that tennis was not all Lane had in mind when attending the mixed doubles tournament. After all, the event is called a “social,” and let’s just say that Lane was certainly being social. We hear that Lane actually developed a crush while on the court and the two have been inseparable ever since. This is definitely a turn I did not expect the tournament to take and readers should speak to Lane herself to get the insider information on her new romance! 

Ayoush Injury

In the middle of an intense match, Thomas Nguyen smashed a forehand right into Aayush’s neck. This certainly allowed the tournament to take a turn for the worse as Aayush and company ensured that every raptor was aware of the incident. There was quite a commotion as Aayush screamed out in pain and showed everyone the imprint the ball left. While Thomas claims this attack on Aayush was purely an accident, not everyone is convinced.

While the mixed doubles tournament certainly had its ups and downs, all the raptors can attest that there was some great tennis. Friendships were put to the test, where new ones were formed (Walker and Henry) and others were potentially severed (Chloe and Sophia). Comment down below if you were at the mixed doubles social and if there were any important moments that I missed.