People can agree that high school sports are memorable and fun for the athletes that enjoy them. From the actual games to the time spent with the team, the experience is chalked full of memories that can last a lifetime. One thing that all high school sports have in common is senior night. Every sport at Cass has one; it is a time to honor the seniors and their time in a particular sport throughout the years. Senior night is typically held on the last home sporting event in a season and is often emotional for seniors and their parents. 

To continue, seniors usually are called out to the field, court, or track they play on and recognized by the entire audience. The announcers describe each athlete’s involvement, including clubs and their future. For tennis, it is different. Although we have a senior night, we do not have it on the last home match of the year. Instead, the team chose a designated day where we would have practice and dedicated it to a senior night alone. At the heart of it is a cookout that involves a time for players, parents, and friends to play. 

Furthermore, two seniors choose teams consisting of players on our team. This year, Noah Preston and I chose teams; it was a lot of fun. My team’s name was team Larry, and it was enjoyable to warm up together because I was the acting coach of my team. Noah’s team name was Cobra Kai, and their motto was “no mercy.” Noah created a very competitive team, and it was fun to play against them. The good thing about senior tennis night was that Noah and I got to arrange the lineup to choose from. Both of us decided to put our best players at one doubles, which consisted of Jensen Burrous and I for my team and Noah Preston and Bryon Hurst for Noah’s team. 

Along with actually playing, the team assigned each grade level a specific food or drink to bring. In total, Seniors had snacks, Juniors had desserts, Sophomores had drinks, and Freshmen had drinks too. Coach Skarda and Hurst provided the main course of burgers and hot dogs, and Skarda did a great job grilling them and is a grill master. It is a chill and enjoyable experience because the players play, hang out, and eat instead of stressing about walking out or preparing a speech for a traditional senior night. 

In conclusion, senior tennis night is better than others because of the chill environment. After I played the match, I stayed for hours after eating and enjoying the night. My parents and I even played for about an hour with Coach Skarda, and it was fun. Every year, the senior night takes place for the tennis team, but this one hit home because it made me realize that this was my last year of tennis. Overall, I enjoyed the senior tennis night and all the fun it brought.