As the school year starts to wrap-up, many sports are seeing their season come to an end. Edmond Memorial High School’s Boys Tennis Team is gearing up to finish, receiving 2nd place at their most recent tournament. 

To prepare for the spring season, the team worked hard all year under the instruction of Head Coach Lesile Futrell.

“We began the year with strength and conditioning, then we moved into lots of challenge matches and just match play to prepare for the season,” Futrell said. 

Players have also been practicing outside of school to make sure they were fully prepared for the season.

“I was out for a little bit because of an injury, but other than that I’ve been taking lessons and drills outside of school along with school practices,” No. 1 doubles, with 10 wins and 11 losses, senior Jack Heyman said. “I’ve just been making sure I can maintain my stamina during a match.” 

Another way they have been preparing is having team dinners once a week to better bond as a team.

“The way I have been preparing for this season is hitting a lot with my teammates and just trying to get better chemistry with everyone,” No. 2 singles, with 7 wins and 8 losses, sophomore Carson Ogilbee said.

The team has become a family that supports one another during competitions.

“I was at the Union tournament, but I was out with an injury,” Heyman said. “There was one match where [the team] would scream at the [other teams] and we were just having crowd interactions as well as trying to support our team.”

The team has been winning many matches this season, including 2nd place at both the Ponca and COAC tournament, and has big goals to finish out.

“We have goals to continue to win regionals and for the team to win state or place in the top three. I want everyone to be up on that podium this year,” Futrell said. 

Futrell is looking forward to next year and is expecting good incoming players.

“We will be losing 11 seniors this year, so we will definitely have a new team next year, which will cause some adjustments,” Futrell said. “However, we have several talented incoming freshmen next year, so we should be set for another successful year.” 

The EMHS Boys Tennis Team has been doing very well and has five matches left in their season. The last one will be the State tournament at OKC Tennis Center on May 14.

Contact Adeline Gruen at [email protected]