After collecting the first region championship in school history last year, boys Tennis is looking to remain champs. Despite the team losing many seniors and becoming much younger, they’re hungrier than ever for more title wins.
“I think it definitely motivates the team because now we’ve set the bar. So now regional championships are the expectation,” head coach Christopher Schlee explained.
Last season, the team had eight seniors on the roster” however, this season there is only one. This change has inflicted the group with a lot more inexperience, giving Schlee the task of taking a new approach. He described this season’s practices as very development-focused. With the influx of underclassmen, it’s likely that the starting rotation will consist of those players.
“Even though we lost seniors, we still have a lot of good freshmen coming up so our team is looking pretty solid. They just need to play a couple matches to get used to it,” junior and star player Nick Novitski pointed out.
It’s clear that the upperclassmen of the team have a duty to mentor the younger players and Schlee has pushed them to take that responsibility.
“They’re really going to help right away to be able to contribute to the team which is huge after losing seven seniors. It’s kind of important to be able to fill those roles and I think that their skill level definitely will be a competitive advantage,” Schlee remarked. “When you bring younger players in with that high skill level, it kind of pushes and motivates everybody else to raise their level of play.”
Despite not possessing the same familiarity, the younger players of the team are extremely competent and have the ability to contribute to titles.
Novitski has been gearing up for a near-perfect season himself. When asked about his objectives, he stressed the desire to go undefeated, defend his county and region titles, and possibly win his first state title. Those goals are very obtainable for Novitski, as he’s only lost two matches in his first two years, and he looks to play better than ever this season.
“I can always find ways to improve. There’s many things I still need to improve on,but I guess one of the main things is keeping the ball in more, showing less signs of anger, and having a better mental game,” he elaborated.
Oakdale’s first match of the season takes place at home versus Tuscarora on Thursday, March 21st.
The new-look team has more rawness and youth, yet everyone involved has refused to lower the bar. Led by star player Nick Novitski who is aiming to play his best tennis yet, the Bears hope to grind out another region title and perhaps earn the school’s first ever state championship.
