This year, Marshall’s boys tennis team will get their first chance to play new opponents in the new 5A division.
“In the second half of our season we’re going to play all new opponents, like Falls Church and Wakefield and Mount Vernon,” tennis coach and English teacher James Macindoe said. “We’ve never played those schools before, so I’m eager to see how we measure up against them.”
For the first half of the season, the team will play Liberty District teams, who in past years have often been uneven matches.
“Our match record might be deceiving,” Macindoe said. “We could lose every single match in the first half of the season and it wouldn’t matter for our league record.”
The team’s new additions have changed its dynamic considerably; half of the twelve varsity boys’ players are new to the team this year.
“This year our top five seeded players consist of three talented freshmen and two experienced seniors – Ryan [Feenick] and I,” senior Daniel Bleykhman said.
Macindoe also anticipates increased competition among the top players.
“Having a competitive team allows for more of a drive to get better, and makes everything more fun,” freshman Christopher Beddow said. “My game has certainly improved in the first few weeks of being on the team.”
The team is also going to rotate a lot more than it has in past seasons.
“It’s going to be really tough to hold down a regular place in the lineup, but that’s really only going to force the guys to improve and be on their toes every day,” Macindoe said.
However, weather has been a significant obstacle for practice in the early season.
“We’ve only had three decent days of practice at the park,” Macindoe said.
Several of the team’s matches have been rescheduled due to snow.
“Tennis definitely is very weather dependent,” Bleykhman said. “It’s unfortunate that spring has not been spring so far.”
The team eventually hopes to continue beyond the regular season, a possibility which is more likely this year than in years past.
“It’s going to be a year of firsts in general,” Macindoe said.