At the start of the boys’ varsity tennis season, a longstanding tradition takes place: the choosing of nicknames for everyone on the team. These unique nicknames usually highlight each player’s most embarrassing secret and foster a sense of community within the team. 

“Hero” Akul Murthy

“My nickname on the tennis team is ‘Hero,’ and it’s from a math class I took with some of my friends on the tennis team as well where the teacher would call me ‘Hero’ for comedic purposes. It stuck with those teammates and they told the other members of the tennis team.”

“No Mercy” Luca Lungeanu

“My nickname is ‘No Mercy.’ I was called that by my teammates because apparently I look menacing when I wear a backwards hat, and I hit my teammate in the back with a tennis ball once.”

“Toaster” Mihir Rao

“My nickname is ‘Toaster’ because when I was 5 years old, I told people in my tennis class that I was going to toast them. Unfortunately, junior Agnik Banerjee brought it up, and it stuck with me ever since.” 

“Ball Machine” Steven Liu

“My nickname is ‘Ball Machine.’ I don’t know why they gave me the nickname, but I think it’s because it seems like I’ve trained with a ball machine before.”