College has always been a priority for senior Andy Hoang. When he started high school, he saw tennis as an excellent way to both get the attention of colleges and receive a sports scholarships. “I started playing because I wanted to get a scholarship. Sac State is looking at me now, and I’m thinking about going there,” Hoang said.

But getting the attention of colleges has been a long journey. When Hoang began playing tennis in high school, he had no experience. “When I first started playing, it was really hard to control the ball. It took a good two years to get used to it.” But after years of hard work, Hoang has finally proven himself on the court. He is now the most experienced player on his team, and he looks forward to playing in college. “Colleges have started looking at me, and the scholarships will definitely help me pay for college.” Hoang’s current college choices include Oregon State University, Pennsylvania State University, and Sacramento State University.

In order to get a tennis scholarship, Hoang also had to keep his grades up throughout high school. “It’s definitely hard to balance practice and school, since practice runs until six,” Hoang said, “but sometimes my coach lets me leave early so I can finish my school work.” Senior year has been particularly hard for Hoang to balance both tennis and his rigorous school schedule . “I wanted to quit this year because I had a lot of school work and I didn’t want to deal with the pressure,” Hoang said.

But Hoang refuses to let all of his hard work go to waste. “I’m really looking forward to going to college and being able to continue playing tennis.”

Hoang has spent most of his tennis career playing doubles, but this year has challenged himself by trying singles.

Another hardship that Hoang has had to overcome was moving schools including Lathrop High, Kimball High, and Tokay High. Throughout his high school experience Hoang has attended four schools and moving has influenced his methods of playing.

“Having different coaches meant both learning and playing in different ways with different expectations.”

Although he strives to be the best of himself he looks towards the girls tennis team for inspiration.

“I would say my inspiration would be (senior and top player) Claudette Caceres from the girls tennis team.”