El Dorado is scheduled to open its high school tennis season on Thursday with a home match against Parkers Chapel and Texarkana.
Coach Rex Hayes said his players practiced on their own over the summer. The girls’ roster is loaded with players but the numbers could be thin for the varsity boys.
El Dorado’s boys’ tennis roster includes seniors Wenhua Huang, Chandler Pagan and Maddock Preston, sophomores Amarion Davis and David Valero and freshmen Spencer Langston and Chester Passmore.
“Unfortunately, I didn't have as many returning boys as I would've liked,” said Hayes. “But I've got Wenhua coming back and Maddock Preston who just missed out on the sign-up date for last year. Both kids love tennis and worked throughout the summer.
“The new players coming in have also been taking lessons throughout the summer.”
The girls’ roster includes seniors Kasynn Bledsoe, Caroline Byrd, Ava Clark, Millee Mobley and Kendall Ricker; juniors Hannah Gatson, Shelby McTigrit and Macy Moree; sophomores Daphny Chen, Kailey Gardner, Sidney Johnson, Sarah Kellett, Layla Maza, Sara Merales and Sara Robbins and freshmen Isabel Clark, Kelly Hayden, Eleanor Larson and Aspen Preston.
“I had a little turnover with the girls as well, but still have a few returning players,” Hayes said. “Hannah Gatson has improved ten-fold since the summer and hasn't stopped working. I'm excited to see what she does. I've got a few returning seniors that want to mix it up and play some doubles, so that should be fun. I also have a young group that has been taking lots of lessons this summer and are looking better and better each week.”