Lady Jackets ready to get back to tops in tennis for ‘19

After last year’s successful season, the Lady Jackets tennis team is hard at work preparing for their soon stating matches of the year.

In the spring of 2018, the girls team finished as 7-AA Region Champions and advanced on to the Elite 8 round of the state competition.

Over the summer, head coach Kent Mathis encouraged and led his team to condition in the weight room and practice on the tennis courts in order to improve and prepare for their 2019 season.

Mathis believes that their hard work during the offseason will ultimately allow the team to “reach further” this year.

“We’re young,” Mathis said. After losing five seniors in 2018, Mathis hopes five of the nine returning JV players will fill those spots.

Mathis names Junior Emma Evans and Senior Mary Ella Owen as the only two returning starting varsity players, confident they will lead the team to success on the courts. He adds that Evans and Owen will fill his number one and two spots on the team.

“I feel confident in my one and two spots as they were very good last year,” Mathis said, referring to Evans and Owen.

“I have to find somebody to play three singles and two double players,” Mathis said.

Mathis has a total of fifteen girls on the team, with Owen being the only Senior, as well as four Juniors, three Sophomores, and seven Freshmen.

The first game of the year for the Lady Jackets is against Pepperell on February 14.

“We don’t expect to lose, but we still have a long way to go,” Mathis said.

The match against Pepperell is not a scrimmage, but does not count towards their 7-AA region record.

The Lady Jackets will play Pepperell at the Rome Tennis Center on February 14 at 4 p.m.