San Benito High tennis players Aaron Francis and Andrew Panger know what it’s like to endure tough times.
Last year, the Haybalers didn’t win a single match — they finished the 2013 season with an ignominious 0-14 record. Francis, a junior, and Panger, a senior, are the No. 1 and 2 singles players, respectively, for the Balers, and two of the key figures in the team’s turnaround this season.
“Pretty much everyone on the team has improved a lot since last year,” Panger said. “Last year wasn’t fun for anyone, but I think going down a level (from the Monterey Bay League’s Gabilan Division to the lower Pacific) has helped us out.”
San Benito entered the week with a 8-8 record; individually, Francis was 6-8 and Panger 5-7. Friends off the court, Francis and Panger are pretty interchangeable at the top two varsity slots.
The two basically took turns playing No. 1 earlier in the season, but Francis has been installed at the top spot for the rest of the season, per coach’s decision.
Panger played No. 1 last year, and Francis was at the No. 3 position. Both players have solid — if not spectacular — games, featuring solid groundstrokes and serves. The 5-foot-10, 150-pound Panger is a classic counterpuncher who tries to outlast his opponents.
The 5-11, 220-pound Francis possesses a solid net game to go along with an ability to hit winners from the baseline.
“Out of all the players on the team, Andrew and Aaron have worked harder on their games than anyone,” Balers coach Chris Yoder said. “They’ve put in the most time on the court, and with Aaron, I feel he’s going to make even greater improvement from this year to next year.”
Francis and Panger constantly needle each other with jokes to keep practices fun. They’re both competitive, but they don’t treat tennis as a life-and-death matter.
However, San Benito’s top two players said they’ll be playing the sport until they’re, well, dead.
“Tennis is going to be a lifelong thing for me,” Panger said. “I know you can still play well as you get older, because there’s this 80-year-old man who whips my butt all the time (when we play at Ridgemark).”
Francis and Panger, who live two blocks from one another in the Quail Hollow neighborhood, first met through one of Yoder’s tennis camps at Ridgemark, where Yoder is the club tennis director.
“Now we teach together every Monday and Wednesday, working with kids and helping out Chris,” Francis said. “We love doing it.”
Panger grew up in a family of tennis players, as both of his older brothers, Derek, 23, and Jacob, 20, played for the school. Panger teamed up with Jacob two years ago at No. 1 doubles, and they went undefeated for the season.
Francis didn’t have anyone in his family who played the sport, but he took interest in tennis at age 9 after a neighbor suggested he should give the sport a try. Francis, who has a “3.6 to 3.8 GPA”, actually got home-schooled for his seventh- and eighth-grade years after struggling with school as a sixth-grader at Rancho San Justo Middle School.
“I didn’t do stupid things,” Francis said. “I just wasn’t focused, and as a result I didn’t do my homework. It was a lack of effort more than anything else.”
Panger has been living in Hollister since he was 5, but before that he lived in Tennessee, Kentucky and Pennsylvania. Francis was born in San Jose, but moved to Hollister when he was 2.
Both players love Hollister for its outdoor escapes — “My friends and I would play street hockey in the parking lot or pick a mountain around here and climb it at any given moment,” Pangers said — making the area an ideal place to grow up.
Francis and Panger haven’t played many challenge matches in the last two years, and even though they are competitive, neither player would ever hold a grudge after a match.
“If he wins, my mentality is I’ll get him back,” Francis said. “But it’s not like I’m going to hate him for beating me.”
Last week, the two played a best-of-three mini set in front of a reporter, with Francis winning, 2-0, surrendering just two points in the process. Both players had a smile on their faces afterward, signifying that even in an individual sport, teammates can push each other while having fun at the same time.
