Under the guidance of new head coach Carl Flint and new assistant coach Troy Wong, the Diamond Bar High School varsity boys tennis team looks to maintain last season’s undefeated Palomares League record.

Last season, the Brahmas ended with a 10-0 league mark and overall record of 16-2. Despite moving into the more competitive league, the team was able to triumph over its new opponents. In addition, the team won two games in the CIF Playoffs.

This season, the Brahmas are focusing on finding the perfect combinations for their doubles matches. Last year’s seniors were key double players, and finding new combinations will play a fundamental role in the team’s success.

“In high school tennis, doubles is what carries you. We need to focus on doubles. If it doesn’t work out, we aren’t going to do well this season,” head coach Flint said.

The team’s practices consist of doing rallies back and forth, drills where players play offense and defense, and drills to see who can rally the longest. However, not only has the team been preparing physically, but they have also been learning new strategies.

“We’ve been practicing and conditioning rigorously, preparing physically for our long season. But we have also been getting ready mentally, focusing on strategies and how to fight to the last point,” junior Neil Tengbumroong said via Facebook.

Also, by gaining valuable experience from competing in non-league matches, the team hopes to do well in its more important league matches, according to junior Vinay Bhupathiraju.

Flint cites Tengbumroong, a nationally ranked tennis player, as a key to the team’s success this year. For his efforts last year, Tengbumroong was named Player of the Year by the San Gabriel Valley Tribune for tennis. In addition, he was the only East San Gabriel Valley player who made it to the Regional finals for the CIF tournament, and Flint said he finds it difficult to find an opponent to rally with him.

“Everyone on the varsity team is incredibly talented, but he’s definitely head and shoulders above everyone else. We actually have trouble finding people to hit with him, because he’s better than the rest of our players, myself included, I can’t hit with him,” Flint said.

To advance deeper into the CIF playoffs, Flint knows it will require hard work and dedication from the coaches and the talented players.

“Diamond Bar has had lots of years of success, so it is a bit of pressure. It’s not all up to me though; we have an amazing team of three coaches and an enormous amount of talent. It’s just a matter of us gelling at the right time in the next few weeks to be able to play as well as our successors,” Flint said.