The Hood River boys tennis team is coming off a rather successful season on and off the court. Last year, the team’s cumulative 3.94 GPA was best in the state, earning them the title of OSAA Academic State Champions for the 5A classification. Last June, the boys finished second in the Intermountain Conference district tournament behind Redmond.
Hood River Valley’s ascent up the OSAA Class 5A boys tennis ranks was put on hold last season by COVID-19 after a fifth-place tie in the 2019 state tournament.
The HRV boys tennis team is coming off another Columbia River Conference title and “are looking to do the same this season,” head coach Jon Hiatt explained.
The HRV boys varsity tennis team may have lost a whopping seven varsity players from last year’s team, but the Eagles didn’t let that faze them in their season opener Thursday in St. Helens, edging the Lions 74-61 on games won after the teams tied on both points and sets won.
Both the girls and the boys tennis teams’ seasons came to an end last weekend at the Special District 1 championships, held in Bend for the girls and Hermiston for the boys, where neither team had players that qualified for the 5A state tournament.
The boys tennis team picked up right where it left off last season in their home debut Thursday evening at the Tsuruta Tennis Courts, where the Eagles nearly swept St. Helens, taking the Lions down 7-1.
