‘They get better every day’: Why Northwestern tennis is hopeful for 2021 spring season
The Northwestern Trojans opened the 2021 boys’ tennis season earlier this week with a 5-1 victory over the York Cougars, and head coach Tim Hartis is hoping the win is a sign of more success to come.
Hartis has 13 players on this year’s edition of the Trojans. He has a veteran starting lineup that is made up almost entirely of seniors. Eight of the players on this year’s team are returning from last year, Hartis said, and despite a COVID-shortened offseason, the coach said he likes what he has seen thus far.
“We have worked hard since we started practice,” said Hartis. “Like everyone else we were limited by COVID-19 as to what we could do. We had no open play in December or January.”
Luke Ferguson, who’s in his second year on the team, is the No. 1 player for the Trojans. Ferguson played baseball for several seasons for the Trojans before last year, Hartis said, and his already powerful forehand and overall play will “only get better” as he plays more live competition.
Four more seniors complete the five singles spots: Justin Jackson plays in the No. 2 spot with Phoenix Skipper manning the No. 3 position. Jacob Moore and Cameron Brinkley complete the singles positions at four and five, respectively. (Team competition consists of five singles and two doubles matches, and only two players can play both singles and doubles in the same dual match, per SCHSL rules. Each match counts one point toward the dual match score.)
“Our No. 2 through No. 5 singles are very close to the same in ability, and they get better every day,” Hartis said. “The top-five play against each other all the time in practice with the different outcomes. All of that healthy competition will help us as a team as we move forward.”
The No. 2 doubles team is made up of sophomore Jacob Hansson and senior Devin Jones. Freshman Luke Moore completes the list of veteran players for the Trojans.
The Trojans roster is completed by five others who are just getting started in the sport: They are senior Matthew Clark; juniors Landry Polk and Croft Cubbedge; and freshmen Cohen Dickson and Si Jennings.
A look at Region 4-5A
The Trojans are in a new region this time around. Ridge View will not field a team this spring. That leaves Rock Hill, Spring Valley and Blythewood to go against in region play.
“Rock Hill is always very good,” said Hartis. “I don’t know much about the other two, but most of the teams in the Columbia area are always very competitive. I look for a tough battle in the region this spring.”
The one thing that Hartis is disappointed about is the lack of middle schoolers on this year’s team.
“We need those younger players to begin developing their skills for future teams,” he added. “I worked to get some involved in the program, but I was not successful.”
Hartis is excited about the prospects of the rest of the season.
“Our goal as always is to make the playoffs,” he said. “We just need to keep working like we have been and continue to improve every time we come to the court.”
This story was originally published March 11, 2021 at 9:11 AM.