Olivia Crooker, of Lincoln Academy, serves the ball during preseason girls tennis action against Brunswick on Tuesday, April 9. (Mic LeBel photo)
After a recent run of successful experienced teams, there are many new faces on the Eagles girls tennis squad this season. The program appears to be entering a rebuilding stage as it returns only four players from last year’s elite team that was 13-1 in the regular season and competed against Greely in the Class B South finals.
The squad will have 11 athletes competing: one senior, five juniors, one sophomore, and four first-years. In recent years, the Lincoln Academy girls tennis teams benefited from experienced international players joining the ranks, but this year that is not the case.
“I believe that our strength is in our team dynamic,” said head coach Melissa Burroughs. “In past years it has been clear to me who should play where in the lineup. This year much of that is still up in the air, so I’ll need the girls to be learners and to hold things a bit more lightly, supporting one another as we field the best team we can for each match.”
Juniors London Hunter and Olive Siegel are both entering their third seasons with the squad, and Burroughs expects them to be the team’s first and second singles players this year.
“Hunter and Siegel are both aggressive singles players that are strong-hitters on the baseline,” she said.
Fellow junior Olivia Crooker, also back on the court for her third year, “certainly will make a difference wherever she plays” as one of the team’s more experience players in either singles or doubles, according to Burroughs. Senior Violet Duong returns to play doubles for her second year.
Captains have not yet been determined, but Burroughs expects that she, or they, will be drawn from the returning players.
Burroughs believes that having many new players will spark a fresh approach to the team this year.
“The new players are eager to learn and appear receptive to the flexibility they must adopt to build a strong team,” said Burroughs. “New players expected to make an impact are Caroline Allen, and Maera McManis. They are both talented first-years that have gained experience playing in the youth red ball training program.”
Other newcomers on the roster include juniors Stella Fields and Mariana Janik; sophomore Liz Hau; and freshmen Reese Poland and Lauren Lee.
“We’re in the process of building the tennis ladder to determine where each of the athletes will play this season and with whom,” said Burroughs. “Several new team members have grown up playing at the CLC YMCA and Midcoast Recreation Center and have a good foundational understanding of the game and technique. However, none of them have significant match experience.”
Alison Hanley will assist Burroughs for the third year.
“Alison is invaluable in many ways,” said Burroughs. “She is organized and detail-oriented and she’s a (U.S. Tennis Association) player here in the Midcoast, which provides a valuable example for the girls.”
The Eagles’ schedule this year is a bit different from previous years. In former seasons, the Eagles have played teams twice, but this year they will only see Morse for matches at home and away.
“We play teams we haven’t seen before like MCI (known to be a competitive team), Cony, Winslow, and Belfast,” said Burroughs. “It will be an interesting change-up and I expect many matches to be competitive.”
