Following up last season’s highly successful run for the boys and girls tennis squads, coaches Jean Serrano and Larry Schmit are hopeful for another strong showing out of the 2014 teams.

In 2013, the boys tennis team took second place at state with Matt Fisher taking third in individual play. The pairings of Tim Schlum and Matt Reid, and Haley Braun and Jena Serrano, were also named the top doubles squads in their sections.

“We have four players from the runner-up team returning for the boys, Tim Schlum, Matt Seiwert, Reid Sanchez and Dillon Nash,” said Serrano.

“We have four new players for the boys, Jacob Strayer, Kent Smith, Ethan Green and David Strayer. These new players are full of energy and determination and lead us to believe a return at state is quite possible.”

The Lady Falcons also have four returners in Haley Braun, Jenny Fisher, Kate Domin and Jena Serrano.

“We have nine new players joining the team, two of which haven’t made it yet as they are still cheering for the girls basketball team at state,” Serrano added.

So, overall, Serrano and Schmit said there are lots of new faces on the squad, a team that is aggressively working together to push each other higher and to get new players ready for the season.

They’ll have to work quickly, however, as the Falcons’ first tournament is this Friday and Saturday, Feb. 28 to March 1. It’s the Gene Autry Tournament, which will be played at three sites across the Valley.

With so many new players on the court, Serrano said she and Schmit have returned to the basics to help bring everyone up to speed on skills and rules of the game.

“Currently, the eight returning players are taking on the role of leaders and helping the new players out so no one is left out or lost,” Serrano said.

“They all bring experience competing as teams at state and competing as singles and doubles at state.”

With a nice mix of experience and new athletes out to play, Serrano said the team’s goal this year is to compete at all levels of state, including teams, singles and doubles, and hopefully earn some higher finishes than in 2013.

“Considering what we accomplished last year, I believe it is doable with all of the energy and determination that I am seeing from the returning and new players,” Serrano added.

“As coaches, our approach to this season is to get the team pushing hard for improvements right from the beginning and not to be complacent with where we are. We are going to keep setting smaller goals to push the team to reach our final goal at state.”

Helping make that a strong possibility is a good sense of camaraderie between both teams.

Coaches Serrano and Schmit said they are seeing a lot of energy and high spirits, as well as focus, when playing matches and helping each other improve.

“The fans can expect an exciting season of competition,” Serrano added.

“We have lots of junior players who started with us as freshmen. With not much experience at first, it is astounding the progress that they made over the last two years. Fans will be entertained by the high level of play that they are exhibiting on the courts.”

Tournament

The 2014 season begins with the Gene Autry Tournament, seeing the boys and girls get in a lot of matches over the course of two days.

The girls begin their tournament on Friday, playing at Mountain View High School at 12, 1 and 2 p.m. Play continues for the ladies on Saturday at Gene Autry Park at 9, 10 and 11 a.m. If the girls are one of the top two teams in their pool, they will continue on to the semi-finals at Gene Autry beginning at 4 p.m. Finals will follow.

As for the boys, play begins Friday at Gene Autry with matches scheduled for 4:30, 5:30 and 6:30 p.m.

The boys continue play on Saturday at Dobson High School at 10 and 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. If the boys qualify for the semifinals, they will begin at 3 p.m. at Gene Autry. The finals will follow.