Sophomore Trey Hamlin drills a backhand against Ben Franklin on Tuesday, March 3.

In gusty weather better suited for flying kites, the varsity tennis team improved to 5-0 in dual meet competition with a 6-1 win over the Ben Franklin Falcons on Tuesday, March 3 at the UNO Tennis Center.

Coach Travis Smith opted to rest his top five players after a grueling weekend at the McGill-Toolen Invitational in Mobile.

Suiting up for the Blue Jays on Tuesday were four  juniors–Andrew Nguyen, Christian Archaga, Griffin Pels, and Andrew Westholz–along with sophomores Jack Steib and Trey Hamlin.

Jesuit started off by taking three of four singles matches, with Hamlin,  Nguyen, Westholz posting wins at Lines 2, 3, and 4. That was enough to put the Falcons on the ropes heading into the doubles competition, but not enough to knock them out completely.

Any hopes Ben Franklin had of a comeback were ended quickly, however,as Jesuit swept the three doubles pro sets by a combined score of 24-1. Steib and Hamlin shut out their opponents on Line 1, as did Archaga and Westholz on Line 3. On Line 2, Pels and Nguyen posted an 8-1 victory.

Next up for Jesuit is much stiffer test: Country Day,  the defending Division IV state champions. Match time is 4:00 on Thursday, March 5 at the UNO Tennis Center.