For freshman Bobby Rittwage tennis is an everyday thing.

Like other athletes, Rittwage has to “hit it or lose it”: Playing tennis takes time. Practice for the boys’ tennis team runs five afternoons a week from 2:40-5. The average game lasts about two to three hours.

Rittwage has put about seven years on the courts. He played for Swift Creek, where he earned two tennis awards, then tried out for the Lincoln team.

The hardest part of the game is serving, Rittwage says, because “it takes a lot of concentration.”

His most embarrassing moment during a match was missing an easy ball.

How does Rittwage try to keep focused?

“I think of a song I like,” he said.