Boys’ tennis finished with a 6-6 record last season and in the postseason, three doubles teams lost their first match and the other four each won their first match but lost in the next round.

The team lost two seniors last year, one starter and one alternate. However, they gained many new players this year during tryouts.

They have five freshmen on the team, and three new sophomores. According to head coach Mitchell Duque, this is a great team as there could potentially be five freshmen starters, which has never happened before in his four years coaching this team.

“We should be greatly improved and could have the best team I’ve ever coached since coming to WJ,” Duque said.

He also believes that the new players bring a lot of talent and competitive spirit to the team, which will help them improve their performance from last season.

As he comes up with strategies for the team this season, Duque wants to make some changes in order to strive for a better record this season.

“I’m looking for the players to really take ownership of their games and to continue to improve their play as the season goes on,” Duque said. “Players weren’t as focused in their on-court play as they could’ve been.”

Junior Ian Greenwood is looking forward to the energy and talent the new players will bring to the team, but they will need to build chemistry with their teammates.

“As a team, I’d like to see us bond more,” Greenwood said. “There’s a lot of new players and getting to know each other will help the overall team spirit.”

The Wildcats’ first match was on March 22 against Magruder.