Tennis Triumphs: An Insight Into the Champions

On May 20, the Phoenix boys tennis team went to districts and defeated the Loudoun Valley Vikings in a 5-0 run. This led to them winning the title and becoming the first seed in the region. The boys were confident in their ability to win, with sophomore Akash Vangala and senior Kaushik Musari making it to the state finals.

Arnav Mahajan, Samantha Chang, and Nadia Shirr • June 16, 2024

When it comes to sports, the end of the year brings pressure and the stress of making it to districts. This year, boys tennis worked hard during the entirety of the season and their hard work was fruitful as they made it to district finals. Senior Kaushik Muskari, sophomore Akash Vangala, and senior Aryan Dhiman were some of the star players that made this accomplishment happen.

Senior Kaushik Muskari:
“This might be my favorite season out of all four years because we’ve been winning a lot and I’ve been spending a lot of time with the team and on the court. When we don’t have a match, we usually have morning practice, and it’s a really good time for team bonding and working on everything that we need to on the court. My favorite part of the season has been when I won region doubles with my partner so now we’re progressing to states. I’m planning to continue tennis at George Mason University and major in computer engineering, so I’ve got a long road ahead of me.” (Lucian Tiller)

Sophomore Akash Vangala:
“The highlight of my season was definitely winning the regional championship, because we haven’t done that at Rock Ridge in a while, and last year we lost. [For districts,] we just went in like it was any other match. We just hydrated well and practiced well before the match, nothing really special. [To grow in the future,] I’m going to play in the off-season, definitely play during competitions and practice a lot. I play tennis because it really helps me stay healthy, and helps me stay focused, and it’s really fun to play. I love tennis because of the competition and how much fun it is. I don’t have an idol, I just want to be myself, I just play like my own player.”
Courtesy of Akash Vangala

Senior Aryan Dhiman
“We weren’t nervous, I wasn’t nervous; we knew the team and we already beat them before, so we were just confident going into the match. I’ve played tennis for all four years of highschool; I have to blame my parents for forcing me to play. During my first year, I was on the bench so I didn’t get to play that much, but I climbed up the ranks and became a starter during sophomore year. Afterwards, my goal was to win as many matches as possible, and so I practiced. After all, the more practice, the better you’re going to get. So now here I am, senior year and ready to graduate, and I’ve accomplished my goals and hyped up to play.” (Bhargav Kuniki)

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About the Contributors

Arnav Mahajan, Arts & Entertainment Editor

Arnav Mahajan is a freshman and it's his first year on the newspaper staff. He joined the newspaper because he has a strong passion for writing, which he uses to express himself. His main style of writing is argument and opinion-based pieces. He's looking forward to getting good work done and meeting the rest of the staff. When he’s not writing, he enjoys playing sports and video games, especially puzzle-based ones. He’s so excited to be part of the staff this year.

Samantha Chang, Multimedia Editor

Samantha Chang is a junior and in her third year on staff along with being a co-podcast editor for The Blaze this year. Currently, she is looking forward to helping the new staffers and spreading the knowledge about Newspaper, including the podcast and video section. Furthermore, this year she wants to get the multimedia SNO badge and push for more video and audio pieces. Other than The Blaze she is very interested in politics and wants to join a club relating to that. She also dreams to also be a criminal prosecutor and help promote women rights. On any day, you can find her at the Rock Ridge Lit Mag or drawing pictures and expressing her artistic ability.

Nadia Shirr, Staff Writer

Nadia Shirr is a junior and this is her second year on The Blaze. She joined so she could have a more fun, and chill class. When there's a new event to cover, she likes to write about it so she can give her perspective on the topic. Shirr has also been involved in crew for the last two years. Shirr would like to go out of state for college, but is still undecided as to what she’d like to study.

Lucian Tiller, Managing Editor

Lucian Tiller is a senior this year, and he is currently a co-managing editor to The Blaze. He has been a part of Newspaper since freshman year. Lucian was previously the opinion piece editor and hopes to expand his reach in multimedia by exploring all the various types of journalism this year. In fact, his goal this year is to do one of every type of story. Lucian also has interests towards the psychology field and hopes to implement journalistic qualities and integrity into his career. This year, he plans to participate in the Paws for a Cause club, where he and the rest of the organization help provide resources and volunteers to animal shelters, as well as working with the military connect club to help service dogs. Outside of school, he loves watching and playing hockey, as well as reading books about the sciences and psychology.

Bhargav Kuniki, Sports Editor

Bhargav Kuniki is a senior, and he’s been a part of The Blaze for three years and is the current Sports Editor. Most of his time is spent on his physics research project, which he is planning to submit to GMU. Besides college goals, he is also focusing on activities like teaching himself piano. His favorite aspects of Newspaper are photography and writing reviews. He is looking forward to advancing in multimedia and improving his interviewing skills. He also hopes to continue photography beyond the newspaper. This year, he is excited to write articles for The Blaze and get into college.

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Tennis Triumphs: An Insight Into the Champions

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