Jeffery Bao is a senior who has been a proud and active member of Penn athletics for his entire high school career. He was a star member of the tennis team and a certified academic weapon.
Bao radiated the joy in his face as he passionately retold stories of hard fought victories on the tennis court, fun times with friends, and all the mentors who helped him among the way.
When it comes to what makes Penn Athletics stand out from the plethora of other high schools, Jeffery claims that Penn’s big advantage comes with its size. He said that due to the amount of competition that takes place just to get on the varsity team, it creates a healthy competitive environment that makes sure those who put in the most get the most.
When Bao took a look back on the many mentors he’s been inspired by over his years with Penn athletics, he it was hard to choose just one due to the myriad of coaches and other mentors who have helped him along the way. But one stood out among the crowd and that was the head coach of the tennis team, Eric Bowers. Bao said that Bowers was always able to give sharp and precise feedback on his gameplay, and this feedback was able to propel Bao to a new level of skill.
Bao’s favorite memory comes from when he experience an unexpected victory during a tournament. He claimed that going into the match he was shaking with fear, and both he and his doubles teammate where anticipating a quick yet extremely painful defeat. However, when him and his partner brought their concerns to Coach Bowers, Bao said that Bowers was able to create a speech on the spot that instilled confidence in both Bao and his partner. After this the game started and seemingly everything went right, and they were able to slip out with a clean victory.
If you talk to anyone who was interacted with Bao they will tell you that he is a sweet, considerate, and genuine person, and it is clear that he has made a fantastic impact on Penn athletics as a whole, so lets all wish Jeff best of luck as he takes his talents to Purdue!
