On the tennis court, one can find two long-time players – senior Andrew Madsen and sophomore Brendan Elliott – yelling one-word phrases as they compete in a doubles match against their opponent: Yours! Mine! Switch! 

     Madsen, a sixth grader, and Elliott, a fifth grader at the time, met through tennis lessons, and on May 24-25, 2024, they competed at state for their second year in a row, winning one out of three matches. 

     “I wanted to go to state again. Going as a freshman was really fun,” Elliott said when it came to his hopes for the season. “I was like, but I can be that my only time [going to state].”

     This season, Elliott and Madsen agree that they have improved their communication, both in play and in support for each other; it’s a skill that Elliott himself deems important to a game of doubles.

     “When I hit a shot into the net, I go uhh,” Elliott said. “Andrew goes, ‘It’s okay Brendan, you’re fine. Let’s keep on going.’ And it helps create a good environment. You’re not gonna get backlash from your partner for hitting the net because it’s gonna happen. No one’s perfect, and especially us.” 

     While Elliott doesn’t view himself and Madsen as perfect tennis players, getting frustrated at the abilities of other high school competitors, the sport has taught him that with skill comes practice. 

     “Always look on the bright side. Yeah, we went to state. Yeah, we lost [the] first round, but we still went to state,” Elliott said, believing that losing can help improve one’s performance. “There’s 16 double teams that went. Who gets to say they played three matches at a state competition? Not many people.”