The Lewis Cass boys tennis team is coming off of a very successful season. They are having to replace five varsity players. Varsity returners include Nolan Hines and Brian Hurst. There are also many young talented players. They are midway through the season and hoping to accomplish a lot this year. 

The team is going to have to make up for a lot from last season. They were a senior lead team with five out of their seven varsity players graduating. The team may have lost a lot of seniors but Coach Hurst said, “ This year’s seniors are showing strong leadership.’’ Some of the new seniors stepping up this year include Kyle Henry, Drew Sailors and Brian Hurst. Brian Hurst is the number one for varsity singles and Nolan Hines and Liam Ellington are also varsity singles. . Bryce Rudd and Kyle Henry are doubles partners and Riley Johnson and Jarin Williams are also doubles partners. 

The team has high hopes for this season and are hoping to accomplish . When I asked Harrison Clark the goals for the season he said, ‘‘I would say the team’s goal would be winning as much as possible and improving every practice and match even if that’s only a little bit. But the team’s grand goal of the season would be winning sectionals.’’ The Kings have had a lot of ups and downs so far this season they have a few unfortunate losses but they also have good wins such as Rossville and Carroll. As most people know, Lewis Cass changed conferences this year and Coach Hurst said, “We don’t really worry about conferences. We just go out and play and treat every match as an important match. Just like our older conference, there are some tennis programs that are consistently strong and will be hard to beat.”

The team has a lot of incoming freshmen and sophomores including Liam Ellington, Jayden Ramer and Harrison Clark. Coach Hurst said, “We have some good freshmen who came out this year that have picked up the sport quickly. They work hard and I am looking forward to seeing them continue to improve.” The young kings are working hard to make that varsity spot next year. 

The Kings are coached by Mr Hurst who has been with the Lewis Cass Tennis program since 1999. When coaching for that long you would think you would be tired of it by now but not Mr Hurst. I asked him if he still enjoys coaching and he said, ‘‘I have been coaching the boys and girls program on and off since 1999, I believe. Honestly, I have never really kept track of my total years. I just go out every year and have fun! The players are great to work with and the reason why I keep coming out.

Lewis Cass Tennis has a bright future and they are having a great season. The Tennis team really represents Lewis Cass well. We are really excited to see how the team does to continue the season and we can’t wait to see what they accomplish in the end.