Two teams, new players and very hot courts. Tennis season is here. 

After making it to regionals last year, the team hopes to replicate the previous success. Even with these goals and expectations, however, challenges await the young team.

With more than 10 seniors graduating last year, young and new players are having to play at a higher level than before. Seven juniors fill the varsity spots, so the team will have an overall younger squad than the year before. Coach John Macapaz, who enters his seventh year as the head coach, doesn’t see this as an issue and uses the situation to build the team up.

“We’re a smaller group than we were before,” Macapaz said. “Building that chemistry right from the get go is a huge focus for us.”

Uncertainty on who will perform is always a nailbiter for coaches, but another issue is the heat players face on the court. The court is made of concrete, which can often raise the recorded temperature 10-15 degrees. This makes it extremely tiring for the athletes during practices and matches, impacting their overall performances. 

The first match of the season against Summer Creek had a mid-match delay due to the heat and ended in a loss for Kingwood Park. Macapaz said he hopes the players have worked hard enough to handle the heat better as the season continues.

“It’s something that we’ve learned is it’s always going to be there every time,” Macapaz said. “We’re asking them to do a lot to deal with the temperatures out there.”

With the lack of seniors, Macapaz has brought back an old system that he previously had: team captains. The captains are seniors Andrew Carson and Olivia Licona. Both players have practiced with the varsity group since sophomore year, so it wasn’t a huge surprise when they were voted almost unanimously by their teammates for the captain titles. 

Unfortunately, Carson rolled his ankle during practice a couple weeks before the team’s first match. After taking practice off a few days, Macapez slowly brought him back to form. Carson played doubles and sat out of singles for the first few matches. 

He played his first singles match last week against Crosby when the team opened district play with a 19-0 victory to improve the team’s overall record to 2-2. The Panthers take on Dayton tonight at home. 

Last year, they went 5-0 in district play to capture the district title. 

“I think we’re in a great position this year,” Macapaz said. “It just takes patience and persistence. I want them to embrace every challenge that they face along the way.”