LINDEN — A handful of returning players and position battles highlight the start of the tennis season for North Montgomery.
“We are excited to get underway,” Chargers coach Devon Hall said. “Our players have been working hard through the summer to get ready for the season. Even though we lost three seniors last year we have a lot of returning players with great experience.”
That experience has improved the early practices.
“I feel like we are farther ahead right now than we were a year ago,” Hall continued. “Just from having that extra year under their belts and knowing what to expect. We’ve had great focus the first few days of practice and the players are eager to compete.”
An early heavy home schedule may also help the Chargers, who are using the preseason practices to set the list of who plays which singles and which doubles. Four of the first five matches are on campus, starting with an Aug. 20 opener with Indianapolis Pike.
“We have a lot of players trying to earn a spot on varsity right now and it is great to see,” Hall said. “We don’t have a set lineup right now so players are working to earn a spot while making each other better. We have four returning varsity players from last year, but also some young players and freshman that have shown great improvement and are likely to play a big role.”
Four seniors lead the way for North, including Beckett Martin, Cade Cole, Nolyn Brown and Ryan Hopper. There are also four juniors, sophomores and freshmen battling for spots.
“Our goals for the season are to compete for the county, conference and sectional championship,” Hall said. “I thought we competed in a lot of matches last year even though the record was not what we hoped to see. We hope to be able to flip some of those results this year.”
The Chargers will count on that experience to flip some of those close matches.
