PREP TENNIS: Serving up a season

BCHS tennis teams get to know new coach

Advertisement

By JIM KONST

SPECIAL TO VIEW

The Boulder City High School boys and girls tennis teams are excited about playing for new head coach Eric Speaker. The Eagles have been practicing all summer and playing in tournaments to prepare for the start of the new season.

The boys team has a number of talented returning tennis players to build on, and the girls team is solid with a core of juniors who have improved since last year.

"The boys have some solid returning lettermen in Jared Fegert and Josh Lewis," Speaker said, "and I'm looking to them to become team leaders and help the younger players improve. We had a good win in our first matches of the season at Valley, even though we just snuck by. Hopefully, we can keep that going, and have a good season."

Because there are not enough teams to form a Class 3A division, the Eagles must play in Class 4A against much larger schools. Bowling and swimming are the other Boulder City High School sports that compete in 4A.

Fegert's tennis game improves with each season, Speaker said.

Fegert has made it to the postseason divisional tournament in his sophomore and junior years. He said he'd love to finish in the top two this season and get a shot to play in the state championships.

"Our strength this year is in the talents of our two seniors," Speaker said, "and that all the boys have a solid foundation in tennis. We have experienced players who have competed in outside tournaments, and they bring a lot of knowledge and leadership to the team."

The No. 1 singles player for the Eagles this season is Fegert. Lewis is the No. 2 player and junior Evan Ceniceros as No. 3.

The top doubles team is made up of junior Clint Donahoo and sophomore Nick Stevens. The No. 2 team is freshmen Alex Traasdahl and Cory Edwards, and junior Bernardo Salas and freshman Corbin Magana make up the No. 3 doubles team.

Freshman Brett Bradley is the other member of the 2006 Eagles varsity team.

"I actually coached the Boulder City High School boys tennis team over six years ago," Speaker said. "I got away from it, missed it, and am back in it again coaching both teams."

Speaker said he may juggle the lineups depending on the opposition.

As for the girls team, Speaker said it doesn't have as much experience as the boys do.

"It may be a learning year for them. Hopefully, Laurel Howard and Shaelyn Taber can become the team leaders and set a good example for the younger players," he said.

The Lady Eagles will be relying on juniors Howard and Taber to set the pace this season and counting on them to earn as many points as possible.

Howard is the top singles tennis player for the girls team this year, Taber is the No. 2 player, and junior German exchange student Lena Marshall will probably grab the No. 3 singles spot.

The No. 1 girls doubles team is the tandem of junior Melissa Kehoe and freshman Sarah Olveros. The No. 2 partnership is made up of juniors Alexandria Patt and Sarah Armantrout, and juniors Great Skinner and Jenna Spinkelink anchor the No. 3 team.

Juniors Sara Ramthun and Kathryn Williams are the other members of the Lady Eagles' roster.

"The girls are all working hard this year," Speaker said. "Our goal is to continue to get better throughout the season, and we'll see how things work out at the end."

The boys tennis team has won three matches this season. Two of the wins were on the road against Valley and Vo-Tech, and the other victory was at home against Green Valley.

Fegert, Lewis and Ceniceros have been winning most of their matches this season, leading the Eagles to all three victories.

The girls team has won only one match this season, at Silverado. Howard, Taber and Marshall have been earning the majority of the points.

"The kids are doing fine this season so far," Speaker said. "I knew coming in it wasn't going to be a real experienced group, but they have been working very hard in practice, and I can see them developing and improving.

"There is a big difference from the very start of the season. The effort is definitely there, and it's tough playing against the bigger schools with kids with more experience. We've been competitive in all our matches, and I've been happy with the way things have gone."

The Eagles teams have two matches this week, but have had as many as four matches in a week during this busy season. Boulder City will play Green Valley today at home and travel to Liberty on Friday. Both matches start at 2:30 p.m.

The postseason tournaments for tennis are early this season. The divisional playoffs are Oct. 6-14, and the state championships will be held in Reno this year, Oct. 19-21.

"We've started the year off well," Speaker said, "and I hope we can continue it. We are looking for continued success and improving as the season goes along."

Jim Konst is a local freelance writer. Story ideas and comments may be sent to him at jkonst54@aol.com.