SAM HOHENSHELL

MOUNDS VIEW, SR., TENNIS

Hohenshell, a tennis captain this season, was part of the No. 2 doubles team that helped the Mustangs clinch the team state title last year.

Q: How did it feel to win a state title?

A: Tennis was such a big part of our lives. Every single person on our team was working year-round. … To be rewarded for all of the hard work that we've put in for the past few years … was incredible.

Q: When did you join the team?

A: I joined in ninth grade, and I was on JV ninth grade and 10th grade. … I knew that if I really wanted to make varsity, I had to work for it and it needed to be something that I dedicated a lot of my time to. … Eventually I made it junior year, and I was rewarded not only with being on the team with a great group of people and with a really competitive group of athletes, but also being able to win a state championship, which was kind of my dream.

Q: As a captain, how are you leading a young team this season?

A: We've got all these new kids that lack experience at a high level of play. … [But] every single match … we're trying to figure out what's wrong and then in the following practices, really try to fix that. And it's working very well. We're improving as a team, and I think at the end of the season, we're going to be a drastically different Mustangs squad.

KAITLIN MERKEL