Everyone loves a streak. Whether you love or hate the team, you have to respect what the team is able to accomplish, whether it was the Patriots winning 21 straight games, the 1972 Lakers winning 33 straight games, or the 1970’s UCLA Bruins basketball team that won 88 straight games.

And right now, the Garfield boys’ tennis team, although not yet at the status of those famous teams, has put together an impressive streak of their own, knocking off 14 straight opponents dating back to the beginning of the 2006 season after downing Inglemoor, Franklin, and Interlake.

“Things are going very well,” said junior captain Neil Eddington. “We’re looking like the team to beat.”

Since the clutch comeback victory over Roosevelt, the Bulldogs have had smooth sailing through the KingCo 4A conference, defeating Inglemoor while only dropping one doubles match, and blowing away Franklin without losing a single match.

“This team should be able to go undefeated,” said sophomore Riley Mulherkar. “Every match we put our perfect record on the line, but so far things are going really well.”

Although the team has a tough one-two punch at the top of their roster with Eddington and sophomore Wilson Platt, they also have very talented players at the bottom as well.

“The team is not only very deep, but it is deep with underclassmen,” said sophomore Frankie Pavia. “We are winning a lot because of our equal talent, and the ability to beat our opponents’ lower seeds.”

The team’s next opponent is the Juanita Rebels, who has lost 6 – 3 against Roosevelt and Lake Washington in two of their last three matches.

“Juanita has one of the best #1 players in all of KingCo,” said Mulherkar. “But I am not worried about it. Our team is deep.”

The team is not only able to connect on the court, but off the court as well, as their pre game bus rides and warm-ups are very important as well.

“In the pre-game bus rides, everyone gets really pumped up,” said Pavia. “In fact, because of that most of the team takes the bus instead of driving.”

Good team chemistry usually provides the foundation for a successful team, and the Bulldog tennis team is no exception, combining their talent with ability to get along.

However, throughout this season, their talent will be tested, as the Bulldogs are still yet to face many of the Eastside teams, including Lake Washington, Eastlake, and Woodinville. Woodinville has also been sucessful, as they have beaten their last two opponents.

“Woodinville and Eastlake will probably be the toughest teams besides Roosevelt we will face this year,” said Pavia. “But we still plan to go undefeated again and win the league championship.”

Whether they go undefeated again or not, the team has the youth to make winning KingCo championships a very definite possibility not only this year, but in the years to come.

“The class of ’10 is still trying to keep alive the possibility of going 40 – 0,” said Mulherkar.

However, no matter how many games they win from here on out, the team is providing an opportunity to watch one of the most talented and exciting Garfield sports.