Eastern Montgomery High School jumpstarted a girls tennis team this spring for the first time since 2018 and brought home a Pioneer District title and championships in both the singles and doubles division.
Athletic Director Kelley Sutphin is a former tennis coach at the school and had her own successful teams in the past.
“I’ve been sad that the program went by the wayside,” she said. “There was talk of interest last year and a few girls came to me this year asking if we could form a team. I told them to find six girls that wanted to play and I would do my best to make it happen. We had nine come out, one didn’t stay, one was dealing with an injury that kept her from playing and the other seven have been going strong all season.”
The team finished with both the regular season and tournament championship, while Sophomore Karsen Underwood was the district singles champion. Underwood joined with Lyla Jo Sutphin to win the Pioneer doubles title.
Sutphin did not expect this kind of success. Matter of fact, none of the players had never played tennis before.
“I thought they were all athletic enough to get the hang of it quickly, and do okay, but I didn’t quite expect them to compete at the level in which they did (but I’m not surprised either). These girls were eager to learn the sport, have fun, and work hard,” she said.
This season has created some excitement and interest.
“We will definitely miss our two seniors and will have big shoes to fill. I am hopeful that this year’s success will lead to more interest moving forward,” Sutphin said.
There has also been some conversation about a boys’ team.
But first, Eastern Montgomery must overcome the lack of courts. Sutphin points to the fact that the school’s courts are not suitable for home matches.
“We are hopeful that in the near future improvements will be made to our courts so that we can play our home matches at home,” she concluded.
For now, tennis is back at Eastern Montgomery.
