The doors to the tennis court opened wide, signaling the beginning of the 2022 Daegu Junior Tennis Tournament. Last month, on March 25th, Team DIS entered the field as the 6 different schools gathered together in Duryu Park Stadium to decide the victor. 

Team DIS has 2 members: Jacob in grade 5 and Matthew in grade 4. Both are fierce players, with loads of passion for the game. After long rallies, serves, and swings against Dalseo Elementary School, Jacob and Matthew were victorious, bringing DIS to 2nd place with a score of 3:0.

“There were 6 schools total, and we managed to land in the top 3,” said Jacob proudly. “Last time, I didn’t even enter the top 5, so I’m very proud of what we accomplished.”

Both players deemed this tournament as a victory, as they overcame their personal struggles. Matthew, who has participated in numerous tennis competitions before, shared his story. “Last match, there was a 6th grader I went up against and I lost to him,” he said. “But this time, I [finally] beat him.” 

Jacob also brought impressive accomplishments. The Daegu Junior Tennis Tournament was not only a fun tennis competition, but it was also how the Daegu’s representative tennis player for the National Junior Sports Festival would be chosen. Jacob, who ranked 5th place among all the players, will play as a representative player this year. 

Tennis competitions will continue to flourish with DIS participation. Matthew expressed his passion for the sport despite the difficulties he faced during the tournament, “I love tennis because I can play with my friends. Our group only has 2 people [while] other schools have more than 4 people, so it’s hard to win because they have an [advantage].”

“Tennis tournaments are hard and they take a lot of time to get used to,” chimed in Jacob. “But, even if you fail, you can succeed if you try and work hard.”

 Although they did not achieve first place after a loss in the finals, their accomplishments were not marred by their failure. Congratulations to Jacob and Matthew once again for all your hard work and effort. Keep your eyes peeled for their next competition in May as they advance forward to victory!