The Jesuit tennis team recently began their spring season, playing a few matches and trying to get back in the swing of things as they look to compete in district play at the district 9-5A tournament March 26-27th.
As Coach Paul McDaniel puts it, “There isn’t much to tell at this point in the season. We’re just starting up and getting ready to start playing our big matches.” However, in the matches they have played, the team has worked hard and competed at a high level.
A few weeks back, the team took on Trinity Christian Academy at a Keller Tournament. The team played hard, but struggled a bit as Freshman Campbell Frost lost line 1 singles 6-3 6-1, freshman Matthew Salazar lost line 2 singles 6-3 6-0, and freshman Pierre Craig won line 3 singles. On the doubles side, sophomore Adam Bartlett and freshman Federico Pier lost line 1 doubles and sophomore Henry Haskins and junior Sam Veatch won line 2 doubles 6-3 6-1. “I thought we played well,” said Veatch, “they were a good team and we won some and lost some. Which is usually a common result for us.”
“We don’t expect to win every match,” says Coach McDaniel, “but we do expect to always play to the best of our abilities and I think that we definitely did that against TCA. They were a good team.” McDaniel is excited about the looks of the team moving into the future, as their youthfulness bodes well for coming years. “We have a lot of younger guys without a lot of experience. But I think with a few more tournaments, we are going to have a really competitive team.”
Junior Bud Dalton, who along with junior Buck Lyon won singles matches the next week in a rematch against TCA, says that “We aren’t a bad team by any means, but we have to work hard if we want to be competitive, and I think that we can and will do that.”
The Rangers look to improve upon both these wins and losses as they move forward and gear up for what should be a very competitive district tournament, facing fellow 9-5A foes such as Berkner, Richardson, and Lake Highlands.
