After winning the state championship last summer, the men’s tennis team knew that there were going to be many obstacles in the way of repeating.

Despite knowing that, they had no idea what was going to hit them next. There was a team informational meeting scheduled, but nobody knew what was to come.

“We knew the meeting was coming up, but we all thought it was just another one of those apparel meetings. But when we all saw that Julie was there, we knew something was up,” stated Louis Ungs, ‘18.

Reacting to the news that their coach, Julie Westercamp, had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Riley Collins, ‘18, said, “I was stunned, and it didn’t really hit me until that night. I couldn’t sleep.”

Westercamp has only been the men’s tennis coach for one short year, but that has no correlation with the strong bond she has with most of the team. She has been coaching most of the guys since the 6th grade.

This whole situation has left a significant impact on Ungs, who sees this situation affecting him and his team in both positive and negative ways.

“It will be negative because she will not be around nearly as much and that means we will not receive her powerful insight and coaching. On the positive side, it will give the team motivation to work harder, whether it’s in the classroom or on the court because they know she’s fighting 10 times harder.”

The boys are looking to use this news as pure motivation, as they will have a tough road for another state championship run. “I think the odds are in our favor for repeating a state title, but as a team, we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves,” said Ungs.

The tennis team knows they’ve got potential, but they don’t want it to affect them that much, since the title this year is basically up for grabs amongst four teams: Xavier, Waverly Shell-Rock, Camanche and the Golden Eagles.

Practices start March  13, and they will be run by the new tennis coach Aimee Walsh, who played collegiate level tennis at Arizona State. She is looking to lead the team to a potential back-to-back state championship.