Wooster tennis team off to good start despite weather issues

  • brian questel
  • April 13, 2011
  • 255
                        
041811 WHS tennis Promo: Mother Nature getting in the way of General tennis team Wooster tennis team off to good start despite weather issues By Brian Questel The Wooster High tennis team had the experience coming into the season and the Generals won three of their first four matches to get off to a good start. They haven’t had similar luck with an everyday opponent as they’ve stalled out thanks to Mother Nature’s 1-2 bunch. After a 3-2 win over West Holmes in their opening Ohio Cardinal Conference match, the Generals have been relegated to a practice role. “We’re still 3-1,” said Wooster coach Stan Burris. “Our last match was against West Holmes Thursday (April 7) and nothing has happened since then. We were supposed to play Perry Monday and had to reschedule that, and then we were to play Madison today (April 12) when it started to rain at 3 o’clock.” The Generals had matches planned against Mansfield Senior (April 14) and Central Christian Saturday (April 16), and Burris noted the weather looked promising to have gotten those matches in. Wooster, along with any other Northeast Ohio tennis team, can ill-afford to have more rainouts. “We’re getting backed up,” said Burris. “We have five matches a week before OCCs, and then we have three matches that week, plus OCC. But, everyone’s in the same boat. No one is playing much tennis right now.” The Generals started the season with a win over Avon Lake, which was a plus for Burris. “We’ve struggled with them the past couple years and beat them 3-2,” he said. “We had a good showing there, and against West Holmes we also won 3-2, and they are a solid team. We’re off to a good start. We play some tough matches early … and this year we’ve started strong. We don’t play any easy matches. Everyone is tough and we’re beating good teams.” The key has been solid play throughout the lineup and not an overreliance on one person. “It’s been different people stepping up each week,” said Burris. “We have some experience here. Everyone had played some varsity in the past and so far everyone has responded pretty nicely. Erik Lindberg (who is 2-2) is a good example. He stepped in (at No. 1) and played Jacob Dunbar in a tough loss, and he lost to the Hoover kid in a good match indoors. In the matches he’s lost he’s played tough. Against West Holmes he had a nice win against the Nelson kid. “He has been much steadier in matches this year and he’s basically played all the way through. He’s started off really strong for us. You never get a day off at No. 1 -- everyone has at least one good player, so he’s done well. He’s relaxed and stuck to his game plan and make adjustments along way. “Right now we have good chemistry and we’re pulling it together and enjoying the season. We seem to get along pretty well and everyone has adjusted to their role. Regardless of whether you’re playing first singles or second doubles, everyone has important spot in the lineup.” The Generals can go “10-11 deep and not lose a lot,” which will be critical as the season winds down rather quickly. “We’re getting into 5-match weeks …so we only have a few practice days left,” said Burris. “We only have four weeks left. If kids get tired or have academic commitments, we have the depth to move kids in and out and be fine.” The OCC tournament will be played at The College of Wooster May 7, with sectionals beginning the week of May 9-14.


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