MCC’s Dominant Tennis Team
The MCC men’s tennis team has seen a successful stretch over the last few years, leading to seven straight regional titles. This year is no different: they plan on taking home regional title number eight.
“We want to continue that streak and win our eight straight title,” said the head coach of the team, Feroz Rast.
This is Rast’s first year coaching the MCC team. He’s shown success at Paradise Valley, coaching their team from 2013-2019, helping the school reach their first national tournament in school history.
This goal also extends out to the women’s team, although they haven’t shared the dominating success in the region as the men’s team, also are quite good in their own right.
“Our goal is to win that region, I think we have the team for it,” Rast said, “we haven’t done that in the last couple of years. Eastern Arizona has won the region on the women’s side. If we can control the controllables, we’ll definitely win the region on the women’s side.”
Asking both teams to come off with regional titles this season is no small feat, especially considering the tough competition faced from teams like Paradise Valley and Eastern Arizona, who are both top teams in the region as well. In talking to members of both teams however, they all point to their unity being what sets them apart.
“Playing as a team, playing as a family, and the belief that we have in ourselves,” Duncan Mulenga, a member of the men’s team expressed. “We believe that we can play at any level, and we can play against anybody. That’s what makes us different from other teams.”
“I think our friendship and our ability to communicate and just get along with each other is important,” freshman Kylie Williams said, “we have a great respect for one another.”
With these ideas of family, unity, respect for one another show how the Thunderbirds seem prepared to do what’s necessary to take home a regional title.
“We’re very together, we are a family,” Rast affirmed. “We not only preach that, we are that. I think we root for each other unconditionally. And I think that’s what’s gonna take us over the hump, it’s that kind of drive to kinda move as one team, as one unit. I think that’ll make a difference when we play those tough teams like Paradise Valley or Eastern.”
