Six years ago, Matthew Gonzales, junior, and his father, David, took to the Washburn University tennis courts on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Little did they know that they were discovering Matthew’s eventual passion.

“We went to go play tennis and I was atrocious. I was terrible. And he just kept taking me out there,” Matthew said.

Throughout middle school, Matthew tried his hand at a number of other sports.

“I was good at basketball, but it wasn’t going to be my thing and football, I’m not the most aggressive person, and track, I’m probably not the fastest person. So tennis ended up being my niche,” Matthew said.

After finding his “niche,” Matthew went on to be the singles city champion in his seventh and eighth grade seasons and undefeated his entire middle school career. In high school, Matthew has managed to qualify for state once and win the 2014 Sunflower State Singles Championship. He was also runner up in the 2014 Topeka Open.

“No matter what the score is I always believe that I will win, and that’s the difference between me and other players, no matter how bad I’m losing, I always have that belief, and that’s what drives me to always want to win and be the best,” Matthew said.

Matthew is 16-5 on the season and looking to state qualify again this year.