Nguyen, Micah, Nick, Macklin, Chase, Tengo, and Francisco.
Seven seniors. Seven teammates. Seven different stories. Sometimes a sport isn’t about wins and losses. This year’s boys tennis team proves that a group of people can come together and embrace their differences.
Whether it is another sport or another origin, the boy’s on this year’s team make up a unique collection of individuals. Both Nguyen Lam and Micah Lohr spend their summer, fall, winter, and spring racing and training for swimming. Nick Miller is the vice president of the English Honors Society, Alpha Omega, president of project 18, and treasurer for student council. Macklin Harbaugh is in theater and took on one of the lead roles in this year’s spring musical, The Addams Family. Along with tennis, Chase Regester is on the cross country, swim, indoor track, and outdoor track teams. Tengo Kandelaki is a foreign exchange student originally from Georgia, Asia. And Francisco Lopez is from Mexico.
The thing that Micah is going to miss the most from the team is “Coach Mac teaching Tengo new words and how to bench press.” Tengo (who never played tennis before coming to America) says his experience has been “unforgettable.” According to him, every match or practice with Coach Mac and the boys “were the memories that I will always remember as an important part of my exchange year.”
Aside from the boys, the glue holding the team together is Coach McCanna, better known as “Mac.” He retired last year from being a teacher here at the high school. Every student had to say goodbye to Mac last year, but these seven boys got the chance to spend just one more year with him. According to McCanna, “They are all the true definition of student athletes and even better people. Their contribution and commitment will long be remembered.”
As for the future, Nick claims that he and his teammates are “sad because it doesn’t look like there will be a team next year.” Coach McCanna stayed for the boys’ senior season and will officially be done with his Hempfield journey when this year comes to an end. According to Nick, the appreciation for Mac will stay with the team since “everybody loves Mac, and he’s the greatest coach you could have.”
Coach Mac’s departure and the boys’ graduation aren’t the only goodbyes for this year’s team. After arriving this past fall as an exchange student, Tengo counts his involvement with this group as one of his most memorable experiences. “Joining this team was one of the best decisions I’ve made during my exchange year – Being on the team with these amazing people was a joy.”