By Peter Sblendorio

Staff Writer

The school year is back in full swing at Coppell, meaning that the highly anticipated team tennis season is underway. Along with the excitement a new season brings come high expectations.

Despite a difficult preseason which saw Coppell post a 1-7 record, the Cowboys start the year ranked No. 12 overall in the preseason state polls and for good reason. The Cowboys have a tradition of excellence in team tennis, as they have reached the regional tournament for 11 consecutive years. The goal remains the same this year.

“Right now our goal is to win district and then move to regionals,” senior Shruthi Rajashekar said. “We won six straight district titles before Southlake beat us last year.”

The players certainly like their chances to achieve this goal. Despite watching several senior players graduate last year, a plethora of talented underclassmen are looking to team up with the seniors and make their mark. Players are beaming about the depth across the board on varsity among both the boys and girls on the team.

“We definitely have a good team,” senior Jacob Rao said. “We have six lines of singles [on the team] and we are all pretty even. It is rare to find a team that is as deep as we are.”

The team has been inspired by the leadership, as well. Three of the top four boys on last year’s team, Blake Taylor, Chase Ross and Rao, return for their senior season this year, providing veteran leadership for the underclassmen to learn from as they strive to win the district title and advance to regionals.

To qualify for the regional tournament, Coppell is required to be one of the top two schools in their district. They are one step closer to achieving this after kicking off the season with an inspiring 10-9 win against the reigning district champion Southlake Carroll Dragons on Sept. 8.

“We expect to be competitive and hope that we can advance [to regionals] like we have in the past,” coach Jane Jackson said. “I feel like four of the teams in our district will have extremely strong teams, including us. Marcus, Flower Mound, and Southlake are the teams to beat.”

Marcus once again has a very deep team, especially on the girl’s side. Southlake Carroll also sports a lineup that is filled with depth, but they saw several solid players graduate last school year and may still be searching for their identity.
Nonetheless, Coppell was satisfied with their victory, which they believe started them off on the right foot to begin the year.

The tennis players have a strong sense of unity. They have shared countless hours of practice together and support each other, and this should be key in the success of the tennis team over the course of the year.

“We are really close,” junior Sam Wade said. “We hang out [after] school and in tennis. I think everyone cheers well and it really brings up our morale.”