The 2017 boys tennis season has just begun, and the team is very excited for the upcoming season. This year is going to be another strong season, before losing a majority of the team. Out of the 16 players, 11 of them are seniors. The varsity team is made up of eight seniors, one junior, and one freshman, and the junior varsity team is three seniors, one junior, one sophomore, and one freshman. The team has started off strong with three wins against Redwood Valley (7-0), Worthington (5-2), and Faribault (6-1) and one loss against St. James (1-6).

Head Coach, Peter Engeldinger, thinks that “the team shows a lot of potential,” and that this season will be very similar to the past year.

Junior and No. 2 Singles, Andrew Goodall, thinks that this season will be about the same as the past year, but next year will definitely be hard. “It will be a rebuilding season,” said Goodall. He also added that the middle school team will need some extra practice in order to become another winning team. With Goodall and Drill being the only two Juniors on the team, they are preparing hard for this season as well as next.

This season, the team is fortunate to have a foreign exchange student, Lucas Valero. Valero is from Spain and has 6 years of experience. Even though he hasn’t played much in recent years, he still is keeping up with the team and playing hard. Valero currently holds the No. 3 singles spot on the varsity team and is the only 4-0 player. Valero leaves America on May 31st and seems more than ready to go home, however, he’s very pumped to be finishing out his time here on the team.

Senior and No. 2 Doubles player, Craig Schapekahm, added that the team has a lot of talent to work with. His partner, Senior, Matt Sondag also agreed with him. They are currently 2-1 for the season.

The Junior Varsity is also very excited for the upcoming season. Freshman, Noah Thompson is very excited for the season. In his first home match, he beat one of Redwoods varsity doubles players in a singles match, 8-7. He was very excited and happy with the way he played.

I, personally, look forward to watching the boys with the rest of their season. Wish the team luck with the rest of their season! Next match is today against St. Peter @ Home.