The 2020 tennis season will be one of adjustments for the local girls’ teams.
Fort Mill and Nation Ford will kick off their season playing against each other Sept. 1 at Nation Ford. Catawba Ridge will open its season a day earlier, Aug. 31, at Northwestern. The playoffs for girls’ tennis are scheduled to open Oct. 19 with the state finals being Oct. 31 culminating in a seven-week season.
Due to the coronavirus, schedules and key dates like the start of playoffs and state finals are subject to change.
Fort Mill
Head coach Angela Struve begins her 13th year coaching at Fort Mill and the Jackets are looking to defend their Region 3-5A title. But this year’s is different because of COVID-19, so Struve is hopeful things will be able to get off to a good start.
“It’s an adjustment,” she said. “This whole COVID thing is an adjustment.”
Fort Mill lost five of their top seven players to graduation and one of their players is out for the year with an injury. Their only returning player from last year is Madison McCarty, who becomes their No. 1 player this year. Still, Struve is excited.
“I got some strong talent,” she said. “Their game has improved.”
Struve said this year’s team is young, but should be a fun group to coach. The average age on the team is 15, while last year’s average age was 17.
Fort Mill lost in the second round of the playoffs last year after winning the region. However, this year’s region will look a little different with the addition of Gaffney and Boiling Springs. The Jackets non-region matches include York, Northwestern, Rock Hill and Catawba Ridge.
Nation Ford
The Falcons are returning nine players back from last year’s team with five of their top seven back as well. Two of those are senior sisters in Alexandra and Vanessa Cardona.
“Our team is much of the same as last year,” said head coach Lindsay Gregory. “I have no idea what other schools are looking like this year. It should be interesting.”
Nation Ford opens against Fort Mill and will have a limited non-region schedule besides a match against Catawba Ridge. The Falcons lost in the first round of last year’s playoffs.
Gregory said she is ready for the tennis season to start because it gives a sense of normalcy to what has been an abnormal year.
“This is one of the first things that opens up so they are anxious to play,” she said. “It will be good to get back to normalcy.”
Of the players that make up the Falcons roster, there are three seniors for Nation Ford to go with three sophomores, two freshmen, a junior, and two middle school players.
Catawba Ridge
The Copperheads’ will start the season with 13 players, eight of them are back from last year. First year head coach Krysti Blocker said she is excited to get to work with them.
“I feel good about it now that I met the girls and seen them play,” she said. “They have been working all summer.”
Last season was the first for Catawba Ridge, but that didn’t stop them from making the playoffs. The Copperheads lost in the first round, but Blocker expects them to get back this season.
“That is the mindset,” she said. “Every girl on the team has the same goal.”
Now in 4A this season, Catawba Ridge opens the season Aug. 31 at Northwestern and will have its first home match Sept. 3 against York.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
