Lady Bulldog tennis has youthful spirit

The Lady Bulldog tennis team is ripe with youthful talent — even if a bit short on veteran experience.

Of the 37 girls on this year’s team, only four are seniors. The remainder of the roster is made up of 20 sophomores and 13 freshman. No juniors came out this season.

Coach Pat Dryden says it may be a tough start to the season while his team finds their stroke.

“We’re going to take our lumps early on, but we can’t get caught up in dual records,” Dryden said.

The team will be anchored by four solid seniors in Caroline Carbo, Sloan Ellis, McKenzie Wick and Simone Craft.

“We have to focus on divisionals,” Dryden said. “Our goal is to get as many of our seniors as possible to state.”

Carbo is a four-year letter winner in tennis and a standout on the soccer field.

“She’s gotten even stronger and I like her attitude,” Dryden said. “She is just determined.”

Ellis comes into the season with her eye on state after coming one match short last season in a tough divisional singles bracket.

Wick missed divisionals last year due to a wedding and Craft was out for the season with a torn ACL.

“It will be exciting to have them back,” Dryden said.

The coach hasn’t decided where each senior will be positioned, but says he’d like to see a doubles team out of the four.

“I’m not sure what the combo will be just yet,” Dryden said.

With no juniors, Dryden will look to a fleet of underclassmen to step up and fill out the roster. Sophomores to watch include the doubles team of Katie Fyall and Anna Peterson.

“I’m excited to see what they can do this year,” Dryden said.

The team’s first practice outside was Monday, with their opening dual set for Friday at Columbia Falls. Dryden is simply looking for clean tennis against the Kats.

“We’ll focus on getting the ball over the net and having longer rallies,” he said. “We’re starting at zero, so we’ll try to keep the ball in play and go from there.”

Joining the team this year is assistant coach Amity Sparks who played college tennis in Missouri. Sparks will also lead the JV team.

Whitefish hosts the divisional tournament this year. The state tournament is in Billings.