Quincy tennis players stay positive despite weather interruptions
The Quincy Jacks tennis players have had several reschedules this year due to weather, but that hasn't been a downer for them says Jacks head tennis coach Matthew See. He said his team is filled with student-athletes determined to make the best of the season.
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QUINCY - The Quincy High School boys and girls tennis teams have experienced a lot of weather-related challenges this season, but aren’t letting it keep their spirits down.
Quincy head tennis coach Matthew See said his girls and boys teams are very different. While his boys team has fewer members, about 20 players versus the girls 40 players, the boys have more experience than the girls.
See said the boys have a pretty strong team and feel like the league is pretty evenly matched. He said their biggest strength is their experience.
Two of his most experienced players, seniors Tim Bensch and Tucker Ronish, took second at districts last year in the boys doubles. They are the varsity first doubles team.
For the singles, junior Harrison Hyer and senior Marty Gonzalez are a couple of the young men that See said he has seen significant improvement in and have worked really hard.
As for the girls, See describes them as young and new to tennis. However, he does mention that the girls team has the drive to learn, get better, and be willing to take on challenges. He said he thinks that is their biggest strength. He noted three seniors Ryann Harrington, Emily Townsend and Savanna Mancini, are leading the girls team. Harrington competes in the singles and Townsend and Mansini compete as a doubles team.
He noted that while they had a low turnout last year for the girls team, this year returned to previous numbers Quincy had seen in years past.
See said the biggest challenge so far this season has been the weather. He noted that since they have had to reschedule so many matches, there was a week where the players played five matches in eight days.
See said it is nice to be a tennis coach because his athletes are well-rounded student-athletes. There are no behavioral problems, the students are very involved in other extracurriculars and are overachievers.
“I think the tennis kids are the best kids in the school when it comes to their grades and character,” said See.“I'm really proud of them, they're managing (their busy schedules) really well.”
Rebecca Pettingill may be reached at rpettingill@columbiabasinherald.com.