Football isn’t the only sport off to a scorching hot start at Interlake High School.

While it’s the Saints success on the gridiron that gets most the attention, the team playing on the courts behind the school is quietly continuing the momentum it garnered at the end of last season when Jayson Shieh and Nikita Nosov won the first tennis state title in the school’s history.

“It just helped change the outlook for Interlake sports,” said coach Matthew Perlman. “It gave us confidence, momentum and just a really good solid attitude moving forward.”

The Saints haven’t let off the gas since last spring. Interlake is 5-1 on the season, dropping only its first match of the season against Bellevue.

Every single player who was a part of that district championship-winning team last year is back – six players in all – and a couple of new additions have the Saints rolling.

One of those new faces is Interlake’s new No. 1 singles player, freshman Luat Le.

With a 6-2, 6-3 win over Garfield’s Frankie Pavia, the Bulldogs senior No. 1 single, Le improved to 5-1 on the year – his sole loss to Bellevue’s Zach Kosanke in the first match of the year.

“Luat can play one point at a time,” Perlman said. “He’s very strong mentally – he can put points behind him that he needs to forget about.”

Le began playing tennis at age four, and since arriving at Interlake, he’s impressed with not only his physical tools, but his tennis IQ as well.

“I like to be aggressive but I try to set up the points first,” Le said. “I play like chess; I set up things first and then I use my strengths to execute.”

Being the top player as a first-year player on the team isn’t a fact lost on Le.

“It’s a little pressure as a freshman to be No. 1, but to me its more of an honor,” he said. “It’s a good chance to represent my team.”

He’s not the only freshman chipping in – No. 4 singles player Joe Motto and No. 1 doubles player Tu Pham have both been consistent in scoring points for the Saints this season. Non-freshman players scoring for the Saints include Tai Pham, doubles partners John Gim and John Kim, and Kirk Morrison and Kyle Farber.

“It’s become a very good, consistent team that we can count on this year,” said Nosov, a two-year captain on the team. “People have to play up and play their hearts out to get a good position on the team. We’re a legitimate tennis team and people need to watch out.”

With Nosov (5-1 on the year) and Shieh as solid players at the Saints No. 3 and No. 2 singles spots (they’ll play doubles in playoffs), Interlake has shown it can play up to the level of its competition – as evidenced with a 4-3 win over 4A Garfield that wrapped up Wednesday after rain Tuesday delayed the deciding match until the next day.

“Playing them [4A and 3A schools] gives us confidence because we have the ability to beat them,” said Nosov, who attends International School but plays sports at Interlake.

With a solid mix of veterans and newcomers, the Saints look for similar success at state this season. Nosov and Shieh hope to win a second state title; Perlman hopes to see several individuals make their way to the tournament.

If the hot start against tough competition is any indication, the future looks bright for Interlake.

“I’m glad to be a start of this whole trend [of success], and I think that it will keep going,” Nosov said. “It all starts from here.”