Eagles, Cubs boys tennis season in full swing

Determination:
Sophomore Brian Shaffer of West Valley, takes a swing during the first tennis match between the Eagles and Cubs this season.

West Valley swept the Cubs (9-0) when they met for the first time this season Thursday, March 12. Tom Wyrick, West Valley's coach, said his team is coming off a difficult season last year, but are poised to be strong competitors this season.

"We've definitely improved," Wyrick said. "The guys are really taking on the challenge of the season. I don't think they wanted a repeat of last year, and they are having a good time with it."

Anderson High School's tennis team is a first year team with an interesting dynamic.

"I lost every single one of my players from last year. It's a brand new team, brand new to tennis, and it's all football players," said Cubs tennis coach Peter Gabriel. "They've got the discipline to start out with from the football team, now it's just expanding on it."

Because he has such a young team, Gabriel said his goals for the season are to improve with each round. By the third round, he hopes his team can beat, or come closer to the teams they lost to earlier in the season. Then, he said, by next year they can be a winning team.

"I'm trying to do as much as we can this year, and teach them as much as I can on so they can continue on. I don't want to lose them next year," he said.

West Valley's team is growing from their experience last year. They only won one game, and took last place in the Northern Athletic League. But this year is looking up for the Eagles. They are 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the league.

"Initially I was thinking we would be bottom-middle of the NAL. Now, the way things are looking, I'm hoping we can be middle-top," Wyrick said.

"I know Yreka's going to be tough. They are pretty much shoe-ins for number one. I think there's a good battle between the other four teams," the coach said. "It depends on what they do early, and if they can continue to drag it out to the end."