Student Athlete of the Week Pavi Soni

After appearing in only a handful of Niwot High School boys tennis varsity matches last season, Pavi Soni enters his senior year as an improved player and one who should contribute frequently for the Cougars.

Soni, along with Lauritz Strazenbach, started at No. 3 doubles in Niwot's season opener at Frederick High School on Aug. 10. The duo made quick work of their Golden Eagle opponents with a 6-0, 6-0 victory. While Soni admitted that his challengers were far less experienced, the clean sweep was, of course, an ideal way to kick off his final year.

"It felt really nice," Soni said. "It's the first match of the season, so 6-0, 6-0, is a great way to start."

As the match progressed, it became clear that Soni and Strazenbach enjoy playing together. The two seniors communicated well on the court and left it with wide smiles brought on by their win.

"Pavi's a great teammate," Strazenbach said. "He's always able to support me and build me up whenever I'm down and get us back in the game if we're maybe losing."

Soni still admitted afterward, though, that he and his teammate lost focus late in the match.

"I feel like (we can work on) taking every match super seriously," Soni said. "Definitely, at the end there, we started goofing off a little bit and you could see it in the way we were playing. Taking every match seriously, taking every line call seriously and making sure we're giving it our all all the time [is important]."

Maintaining focus will become especially crucial for the Cougars moving forward with matches scheduled against tennis powerhouses Cherry Creek, Colorado Academy and Cheyenne Mountain, plus a scrimmage with Valor Christian. Soni said that he's most looking forward to going up against Valor one more time and potentially earning some revenge.

"I remember (during) our sophomore year, we (Strazenbach and I) were playing together and we were down to Valor a lot and we almost came back," Soni said. "I'm pretty sure we took the second set and then we lost in the third set tiebreak. Valor is a really good school and just the fact that we got so close meant a lot. Beating them this year would be really cool."

Soni added that with his tennis career unlikely to extend past high school, he's entering each match with an increased sense of gratitude.

"These past three, three-and-a-half years have gone by really fast," said Soni, who also wrestles for Niwot. "Knowing this is probably my last few months of tennis forever, it's just really changing my mentality on how I play and how I'm going to treat this season."

Academically, Soni hopes to finish high school strong as he continues applying for colleges. He's currently considering an engineering major.