Fords Tennis has boasted an 8-3 record so far this season. Their three losses came from The Pingry School, Newark Academy, and Germantown Friends’ School.
“To be honest, we didn’t play our best against Germantown Friends’ School,” Third Former Alex Schwarting said. “We’d normally be expected to win that match, but it didn’t work out that day.”
Tennis, at face value, is quite isolating. One either plays a singles game against their opponent or a doubles game with a partner. Hence, the team has made it a top priority to form a strong sense of community.
“Being able to connect with each other when we’re not on the court for a match makes it much easier to walk into a match confident knowing the team has your back,” Schwarting said. “It’s great that the members of the team who don’t play against a certain school will often still show up and support.”
The team’s Sixth Formers, namely Kaiser Zhao, Max Olson, and Drew Carrasco, are trying their best to pass down this tradition.
“Kaiser is definitely a very vocal leader. He leads a lot of huddles to rally us up, and also helps the team break down after tough losses,” Schwarting said. “He cares a lot about this program and makes it clear he wants it to have a high standard after this year.”
The team follows a rigorous practice schedule to complement team camaraderie, with the varsity squad traveling to Baldwin whenever they don’t have a match. They begin with dynamic stretches, then transition into drills or intense singles and doubles matches amongst themselves. Practices run roughly two hours until 5:45 p.m.
“What makes this team so special is the depth of our roster.”
Kaiser Zhao ’26
With a deep and talented roster including two recruited athletes, Kaiser Zhao to the University of Rochester and Max Olson to Bates College, the team can “rely on anyone to win their match on any given day.”
“What makes this team so special is the depth of our roster,” Zhao said. “Most of the teams we play have a good 1 and 2 singles players, and maybe one good doubles team, but they lack heavily at the bottom half of their roster. We are strong from our first singles player to our fourth doubles team.”
The team also found success in individual/doubles tournaments. Zhao was second at the Inter-Ac Singles Championship, losing 5-8 to Episcopal Academy’s Preston Lubinecki, who is regarded as one of the best players the Inter-Ac has seen. Olson also played well, finishing third. At the Shafers Doubles Invite, Carrasco and Schwarting placed second.
Even with its intense training and competition, the team maintains a more light-hearted environment. On their Senior Day on April 30, Carrasco brought a grill to serve hot dogs and hamburgers for the team as the seniors were recognized with the team and their parents.
“It’s a fun group to be a part of,” Schwarting said.
The team now looks forward to the PAISAA State Championship, which they won last year.
“There are a number of strong teams there,” Schwarting said, “but I think we have a good chance of winning it.”
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