February 2, is not just the first day back from mid-winter break, it is also the start of all spring sports. Track, soccer, baseball, softball, and less known, tennis. While boy’s tennis started in September at the beginning of the year, girl’s tennis is just now starting. With two new coaches, this year will be different for everybody.

With over 40 girls showing up for the pre-season meeting, tennis will be more popular. The coaches, Mr. Lowery and Mr. Smart are excited to start the season off with varsity tryouts, and JV rankings.
This season the first matches start in March, with the first match of the season on March 17 giving the team only a few weeks to get ready to compete. The match will be held against Mt. Rainier High School here at Tahoma.Unfortunately, this spring has not shown itself yet, and it continues to snow and rain. Since tennis cannot be played in the rain, on days when the courts are wet, practice is moved to the aux gym, with not enough space to rally.

Despite all this, the new head coach Mr. Lowery is excited about the new season. He played varsity tennis when he was in high school and has coached tennis at other schools. Now he is currently one of the gym teachers here at the high school.
As he said, “I am most excited to watch players and the team develop, and I am excited to be able to watch the season.”
If anybody wants to play tennis, there are a few things you should know. In earlier years tennis was not a cut sport, but due to the number of girls that tried out this year, some people are going to get cut.

There are only ten spots on the varsity team, including two singles players, and four pairs of doubles. Coach Lowery stated that the main difference between JV and Varsity players is that “Varsity players usually have more experience and can play with pace.” The players that didn’t make Varsity are on the JV team, which size depends on how many girls try out.
After a week of tryouts and watching girls play, the coaches make their decision on the 10-15 girls that get cut. Despite getting cut, tennis is a sport that can be played for your entire lifetime. Once you learn to play you can keep on playing no matter how old you are, and there are tons of stories of professional athletes getting cut and then coming back stronger.
Despite all the challenges the team has had so far, they have stayed optimistic and are looking forward to the season to come.