By Michael Moroney ’13
THE ROUNDUP

The Brophy tennis team has achieved a record of 12-3 so far in the season and looks to continue their success through the end of April and the state playoffs.

Brophy won the state championship last year and surprised people this year by playing well despite losing some talented seniors.

“We were losing five of the top six players,” said head coach Mr. Bill Woods. “I felt like this team would be a top three- to-five team going into the season.”

The players have been on par with Mr. Woods’ expectations and climbed to No. 2 in the 5A-1 state power rankings.

One loss came against the top team in 5A-1, Salpointe, by a score of 5-4 on April 6, but the team looks to avenge their loss later in the season.

The other two losses came in early season matches against the two top teams in 5A-2, Chaparral Feb. 22 and Desert Mountain Feb. 24. The Broncos won’t have to face either of these teams in the state playoffs since they are in the lower conference.

Despite these defeats, the Broncos beat No. 3 ranked Mesa Mountain View Feb. 15 by a score of 6-3.

The team has defeated all other opponents throughout the year, including an 8-1 victory over No. 4 ranked Hamilton March 31 and a 9-0 win over Mountain Pointe March 22.

“Kyle Chalmers is our No. 1 player as a sophomore,” Mr. Woods said. “He has been a quiet leader.”

The team is led by underclassmen Chalmers and Hudson Blake ’13 along with four upperclassmen, Alex Curtis ’12, Garret Nebeker ’11, Connor McQueen ’11 and Alex Ozkan ’11.

“Alex Ozkan is without a doubt the leader of this team,” said Cole Martin ’11, a varsity player, about his senior teammate.

The Broncos have the state playoffs beginning April 18, which goes throughout the month.