Every year, high school tennis coaches hope that returning seniors will lead their program to victory; this year, for the Woodland Boys’ Tennis team, this hope is put on an unlikely candidate- Freshman, and first year player, Joshua Powanda. Powanda is stepping up to the challenge and is working hard to lead his team to victory.

With a little over a month of practices, Powanda is a strong force in the NVL and on the team. Powanda is 7-1 in singles and 5-3 in doubles, and helped lead his team to their first victory of the season on April 13th. Part of winning games and participating in the program is showing and having good work ethic, and for Powanda, that is all he needs.

“He works hard in practice and if he keeps working hard he’ll get better and better,” says Head Coach Charlie Ostrander.

The last few years the Boys Tennis program has not done as well as they would have liked. This year, Powanda can help to reverse that drought.

“Alongside my hard work and dedication, I believe I can be a huge contribution to the team,” Powanda said.

Other tennis players have also noticed the strong presence Powanda has had on the team and has been a great help to the team. Senior Nick Lucas has notice how good of a player Powanda is with the little experience. With all players and Coach Ostrander hoping for a successful record and a start to building a strong team.

Ostrander believes, “Powanda is a freshman and willing to win singles and doubles and that it will be a huge help in building the team up.”

Although Powanda has shown outstanding ability so far this season, it doesn’t come easy to him.

“I have prepared myself, by training by myself and with my team for weeks now,” he comments, “Even though I’m off to a good start, there is always opportunity for someone else to step up, but if I stay strong I’m really looking forward to continuing what I have started.”