The Racquet Cats improved to 13-2 overall and 3-0 District 5-5A with their recent 19-0 dismantling of Saginaw at home on Sept. 9.
The program returned four boys and four girls from last season. Returning for the boys are senior Noah Nottingham and juniors Ben Kurth, Casen Freeland, and Paxton Psencik. Back for the girls are junior Lila Satterfield with seniors Sydney Byrd, McKinley Hayes and Natalie Nawrocki.
Satterfield qualified for the Class 5A State Tournament this past spring in individual play.
McCoy noted several newcomers have garnered some spotlight, starting with freshman Tai Van.
“He is very talented and is playing mixed doubles this fall as well as singles at the top of our ladder,” McCoy said.
McCoy also praised the play of sophomore Alex Vozeh among the boys.
“Alex is much improved and joins the lineup at our top line in doubles and also playing singles,” he said.
McCoy said four new girls have joined the lineup this fall and all are contributing in singles, doubles or both. They names are sophomores Kieren Christensen, Vivian Beeby and Bailey Martin, along with junior Kjersten Loy.
The Racquet Cats are going for a fourth consecutive district championship.
“We have high expectations in our tennis program, and that doesn’t just come from the coaches. Our players, parents, school, and community all expect high achievement both on and off the court,” McCoy said. “As players come into our program and work within the program, they want to be on varsity and put in a lot of time and effort to meet that goal and be a part of the great success.
“We have great kids and parents who work hard and give great support to carry on the tradition of those players who have also had great success in the past.”
The Racquet Cats have advanced to the regional semifinals twice and are seeking that elusive first trip to state.
“Powerhouses such as Amarillo, Abilene Wylie and Argyle stand in the way in our region and we will continue to work to someday get past them,” McCoy said. “We are off to a great start this year.
“We have great kids who work hard, are very coachable, and love to be around each other. I am very excited to watch this team play and grow and succeed and improve and interact with each other this year. They make my job easy and very enjoyable on a day to day basis.”
The Racquet Cats dominated another district opponent. Saginaw managed to win a single set on the day.
Aledo has now defeated its three league opponents by a combined score of 54-3. Counting a 19-0 non-district win over Birdville, the Racquet Cats have won their past four matches by a combined total of 73-3.
The Racquet Cats were hosting Azle in a key district match at press time before ending the regular season with visits to Keller Fossil Ridge on Sept. 23 and to Saginaw Chisholm Trail on Sept. 30.
Boys doubles
Alex Vozeh/Casen Freeland, 6-0, 6-2.
Ben Kurth/Paxton Psencik, 6-0, 6-0.
Noah Nottingham/Bennett Purcell, 6-0, 6-2.
Girls doubles
Sydney Byrd/Lila Satterfield, 6-0, 6-1.
McKinley Hayes/Kieran Christensen, 6-2, 6-2.
Natalie Nawrocki/Kjersten Loy, 6-0, 6-4.
Mixed doubles
Tai Van/Bailey Martin, 6-2, 6-0.
Boys singles
Van, 6-7, 6-3, 10-6.
Kurth, 6-0, 6-0.
Freeland, 6-2, 6-1.
Vozeh, 6-0, 6-3.
Psencik, 6-1, 6-0.
Nottingham, 6-2, 6-1.
Girls singles
Satterfield, 6-0, 6-0.
Byrd, 6-1, 6-0.
Hayes, 6-0, 6-1.
Christensen, 6-0, 6-0.
Loy, 6-2, 6-0.
Vivian Beeby, 6-1, 6-1.
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