By Nicole Tieu
Eric Nguyen started off his freshman year already playing on the varsity tennis team. This year, as a sophomore, he has gained recognition from OC Varsity as the April 14 Athlete of the Week for boys tennis. He has continuously annihilated the competition throughout the season, often not giving a single set to the opponent.
Nguyen started playing tennis when he was a little kid and first picked up a tennis racquet about nine years ago. Ever since then, his dad has been pushing him and he finds influence for his success from all of the coaches he’s had throughout the years.
“My dad just took me out to the tennis courts one day and I guess I just kept on playing,” he said.
Outside of school, Nguyen also plays in tournaments. Although able to win trophies and awards from those competitions, he believes that he is able to have more fun playing as a Baron on the tennis team. The camaraderie between Nguyen and his teammates is evident from the way he was surrounded during his interview. His teammates do not hesitate to come and support him, but also show their love by calling him “the baby of the team,” due to the fact that he is one of the younger members.
Nguyen describes his tennis career as being strong in the beginning, then reaching a low point, and then finally being able to see some improvements playing the season this year. His experience playing on the tennis team has allowed him to continue to grow as a player.
“Playing tennis as FV has made it easier for me to relax more,” he explained. “It’s helped me be able to play normally during a match.”
As of now, he practices often with the head tennis coach for Fountain Valley, Harshul Patel, along with rallying with his teammate, Winston Ngo (’14). As he continues to play throughout his high school career, he has plans to pursue tennis beyond his years as a Baron.
“If possible, I want to be able to turn pro or attend a Division I college. To achieve that, I’ll continue to carefully practice harder.”
