The Trojans kicked off their tennis season on Tuesday, March 26 when they played in a tournament in Salina.
Sophomore Ethan Plenert played at No. 1 singles and went 1-3. He lost to Eric Grogan of Concordia, 8-7, in a tiebreaker (7-2).
He also lost to Casey Perrin of Sacred Heart, 8-1, before defeating Colt Benfer of Clay Center, 8-4, for his first varsity win.
Senior Josiah Jost lost all three of his matches in his first tournament ever. He lost to Keegan Grogan of Concordia, 8-0, Alex Disberger of Sacred Heart, 8-0, and Lucas Sullivan of Clay Center, 8-1.
In No. 1 doubles, Noah Bartel and Aidan Unruh, both sophomores, lost to Bombardier and Steffen of Concordia, 8-7 (8-3 tiebreaker), Leners and Skidmore of Sacred Heart, 8-4, and Bergman and Wolfe of St. John’s Military, 8-6.
The No. 2 doubles team of Henry Hein and Bryce Rader, both sophomores, lost to Concordia’s Redmond and Roush, 8-2, Douglas and Mosher of Sacred Heart, 8-3, and Littrell and Ferguson of Clay Center, 8-5.
“Overall, I was pleased with our effort for the most part. Our top doubles team was in every match. Ethan did a nice job contending at No. 1 singles. We have a group of five sophomores, one of whom has never played before, and one rookie senior, so we are young and inexperienced. We lost a couple of matches in tiebreakers. Those would have made a difference. The meet was good experience for us on a fairly decent day. We have been limited in practice by the weather and other interruptions. We will strive to keep improving,” said Coach Bob Woelk.