From tryouts to a month of early-morning practices to the Regional and City Championships, Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute’s tennis team has much to report.

Tennis consists of 5 events for players to fill: boys singles, boys doubles, girls singles, girls doubles, and mixed doubles. For each match, also known as a set, a player or team must win 8 games before their opponent, with each game ending when one player reaches 4 points. 

Tryouts took place at 7:30 AM on 27 April at Thorncliffe Park Tennis Club, where team coach Ms. Yoganathan selected around eight students for the team.

Soon after, the team began biweekly practices. Being fairly close to MGCI, practices were held on Tuesday and Thursday at Thorncliffe Park as well.

A month later, the South Regional Championships took place on 24 May at L’Amoreaux Tennis Centre in Scarborough. All teams across the region competed for spots at the City Championships in a single-elimination system where players were eliminated after losing one set.

The top two players or teams in each category—the two in the finals—qualified for Cities. MGCI competed against schools in the area, such as Northern Secondary School. When asked about the Regionals experience, boys doubles player Michael Wen commented, “In comparison to last year, there were much [sic] more people and better players, in my opinion. All of the team’s matchups were pretty difficult…but overall, I think the team tried their very best this year. It was hard but we still gave it our all!”

With the conclusion of Regionals, MGCI’s boys doubles team qualified for Cities, which took place on 29 May at L’Amoreaux Tennis Centre as well, beginning at 8:15 AM. At Cities, MGCI faced teams with a history of success in tennis, such as Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute. 

The day started with a “round robin,” where the regions competed in an initial elimination. By the end of the day with intense semifinal and final matches, the top three teams in each event qualified for a three-day OFSAA tournament. OFSAA is the Provincial Championships hosted by the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations that encompasses various other sports as well. Cities qualifier Stefan Chimet commented, “Cities might [have] been short lived, but [it] was still an awesome experience. [I] got to play with my amazing partner Michael, and together we put MGCI’s name on the board!”

Although MGCI was unable to make OFSAA, all the players still found the season to be a rewarding experience. Grade 12 team member Alvin Young commented, “There were high and low points, but we all had a lot of fun and tried as hard as we could. The tension, atmosphere, and spirit were truly things that I’ll remember going into university.”

Reflecting on the season, Ms. Yoganathan said, “Win or lose, the players make coaching the team something enjoyable for me and them.”