Eagles hopeful singles depth can lead to success

Thursday, April 4, 2013

The South Putnam girls' tennis team begins its season Tuesday at Greencastle but the team has been in stiff competition all spring.

The team's challenge matches, deciding which player will play in which spot in the lineup, have been a strong preview of what the Eagles will face in dual matches this year.

"They've been going back and forth," SPHS coach John Briones said. "I've got three or four girls that are pretty even, so it's going to come down to that last challenge match."

While the Eagles have until to Tuesday to get a lineup set, the competition in practice will be ongoing through out that season.

That extra challenge is just fine with Briones, who thinks he has the right mix of leaders to use that competition constructively to improve.

"We have a great group of kids, freshmen through 12th grade, that get along really well, encourage each other, push each other," Briones said. "With that much competition, it's bound to improve your players."

That ongoing improvement will be key for SPHS. While the team has a lot of depth, that can be a blessing and a curse in tennis.

Strong players further down the lineup will have to keep working with whichever player earns the No. 1 spot to continue down the road of improvement.

"It helps with depth, for sure," Briones said. "Hopefully the No. 2 and No. 3 singles can pick up some wins there to help the team."

The Eagles have had a strong off-season, Briones said, with vocal leaders stepping up and improving.

The group has three seniors leading the way, and Briones said Madison Cash and Cierra Brown each have their own style.

"Madison Cash has made just a great improvement from the years past," he said. "Conditioning wise, she's improved herself. Her game has gotten better. I think the girls have seen that in her and are really inspired by that.

"Cierra Brown has improved her game. She's probably not as vocal, but I think the girls notice her and how she's improved."

Briones also said he's hoping junior Kelly Hayden's consistent play and work ethic can carry over to the younger players.

The Eagles are working to improve and pick up team wins, but with tennis, that's always a work in progress. The SPHS coach is hoping that progress will come far enough by Tuesday.

"Greencastle is always our first match of the season and always a great team to go up against," Briones said. "Our No. 1 goal is to compete with them and hopefully come out with a win. That would be a great start to the season."

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: