After a strong couple of outings last week, the Cheney tennis team was unable to overcome a strong Mt. Spokane team Tuesday, March 19, losing 0-7.
The final score, however, doesn’t factor in the absence of the team’s three top players.
Boys’ team head coach Jesse Erickson said their absence was heavily felt, especially against Mt. Spokane’s experienced team.
“Mt. Spokane has a much more experienced team, and they’re much more consistent,” he said.
Mason Van Stone had the lone set win of the day, going 6-4, 4-6, 8-10.
“That was a close, well-fought match,” Erickson said. “He got into some really strong rallies.”
Other players, like Nathaniel Brewster, were able to keep close during the entire match, but were unable to carry out a win. On a positive note, however, it allowed players a chance to work on some technical aspects of their performance, whether it was serving or maintaining aggressiveness throughout their game.
“Overall, the effort was there,” Erickson said. “But we’re young and there’s a lot of stuff we need to work on.”
On the whole, consistency turned out to be the team’s downfall. Many players started their match winning, but they weren’t able to maintain it throughout the rest of the way. Erickson said he hopes players can learn to make adjustments if a first set goes awry, doing something different in the next set.
Another area of work includes getting better angles on volleys with the doubles players, keeping pressure on the opponents.
Erickson wasn’t sure when Wednesday’s canceled match against University High School would be replayed. It was canceled due to inclement weather that included a heavy rainstorm.
Cheney’s matches this week included matches against West Valley, Medical Lake and conclude today (Thursday) against Lakeside.
James Eik can be reached at james@cheneyfreepress.com.
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