The La Salle boys 2025 tennis season is officially underway.
Looking to replicate the success of the prior season, they hope to win back to back state titles.
Sophomore Zac Hanna-Barofsky thinks that practice will be the key to achieving their goal.
The Falcons are currently 5-0 in league play, with a few losses to tougher 6A teams outside of the 5A Northwest Oregon Conference.
Jeffrey Boknecht considers playing strong 6A teams a great step to prepare for the regular season.
“The goal this year is to win state,” said captain Boknecht, who has been playing tennis since he was around 10 years old.
However, according to Boknecht, their season has gotten off to a slow start because of the weather conditions. Rain causes matches to be canceled, but “making sure everyone stays in a positive attitude” is important for keeping the team focused, he said.
Despite the rain, they still need to practice because the goal this year is to win state.
“We’ve got some really good freshmen,” said Boknecht. “I think the future is very bright.”
Hanna-Barofsky is just now making the move to varsity, finding the community is a lot different than JV, feeling that the team dynamic is very good this season.
Making the change hasn’t been an easy task, “just practice, practice, practice,” Hanna-Barofsky said. “You just gotta get onto the courts, practice, get coaching, and gotta make sure you’re eating well.”
The process of winning a state championship is hard, but some of the key components, according to Hanna-Barofsky, are trained off the court.
“We just need to be strong mentally and believe we can actually do it,” said Hanna-Barofsky.
The team draws from the success of the team last year, Boknecht said, “Charlie Buckman, and then the prior year Aidan McBride really instilled a good, positive and competitive infrastructure into the team.”
The Falcons look ahead as they take on Rex Putnam High School on May 1, and then they play Canby High School on May 5 at home. Their final match in league play is against Parkrose High School on May 8, with the District Championship on May 12-13.
