The McNeil tennis team went on a trip to Vancouver, Canada to view tennis matches and explore the city.
The team left for the trip on Thursday, Sept. 21, and returned on Monday, Sept. 24. The trip took place over a three-day weekend so that the students would only miss one day of school.
“First we flew to Seattle then stayed there for one night,” senior Christina Sawruk said. “Then we drove to Vancouver, stayed there for three nights, and then we drove back to Seattle and then flew back to Austin.”
The team’s extra time in Seattle allowed them to tour through that city as well as Vancouver.
“We explored all the tourist attractions we went to Stanley Park [and] downtown Vancouver,” Sawruk said. “When were in Seattle we went to the Pike Place Market.”
The students attended the Laver Cup, an annual competition between six players of Team Europe and six players of Team World (the rest of the world).
“I personally was excited to see everyone from Team World,” senior Sujana Ganganamani said. “That’s where we come from, [the] US.”
Along with viewing the match, they were able to do so from behind the players couches.
“It was really fun we had really good seats [and] we were really close to the players,” Sawruk said. “Everybody was cheering the crowd was really loud.”
The students were able to meet players and got a signed tennis ball and selfie from Canadian player Felix Auger Aliassime.
“It was the first time I watched a professional tennis match,” Sawruk said. “It was really cool to see how fast they could actually hit because seeing [a match] on TV doesn’t give the full effect of seeing it in person.”
Along with seeing Felix Auger Aliassime, the students were able to see some of their other favorite players.
“I was really excited for a lot of the American players,” Ganganamani said. “But my favorite player was Ben Shelton.”
The tennis team was able to learn from watching professional players, experience professional games, and bond as a team.
The students who went on the trip were Sujana Ganganamani (12), Christina Sawruk (12), Dan Nguyen (12), Varun Bandaru (12), Shaunak Gadgil (12) and Justin Zejda (12).
