The Le Mars Community boys tennis team opened their season with a non-conference victory over Cherokee by the score of 7-2.
The Bulldogs graduated their entire varsity roster from last year meaning this year was going to be a big question mark going into it. After the first match of the year, head coach Michael Bahr says he was impressed with the toughness shown from the guys in some close matches.
Singles wins were the toughest to come by with Ian DeRuyter winning his match via the seven-point tiebreaker, Tye Penne winning 9-7, and Caiden Heitritter winning a match of extreme swings by a score of 8-6. Coach Bahr says those close matches show that the potential is high for his team to play opponents tough.
Le Mars did not shoot themselves in the foot very often in the win against Cherokee. Coach Bahr says his team’s fundamental footwork kept them in a lot of points.
The Bulldogs start the year 1-0 and will dive headfirst into MRAC play next week. Le Mars is scheduled to play Sioux City East, third-ranked Sergeant Bluff-Luton, and Sioux City North in a busy second week of the season. Coach Bahr says he is looking for the guys to compete hard against quality competition.
Le Mars’ next matchup with Sioux City East is on the road on Monday, April 7.
