Boy's Tennis Preview: James Wood

Coach: Guss Morrison, 1st year

Last year: 3-13 (1-7 Northwestern District); lost to Millbrook in district play-in.

Key losses:Chris Haskiell, Samuel Adams.

Top returning players:Devin Carter, Sr., Chad Schott, Sr., Luke Davenport, Jr., Austin Messick, Sr., Mason Beeler, So., Travis Beeler, So.

Newcomers: Kevin Realegano, Fr., Christian Whitacre, Fr.

Outlook: Morrison inherited several players from James Wood's top six last year, and he found that he inherited a group that was willing to do whatever it takes to improve.

"I stress discipline in terms of drilling and consistency," said Morrison, whose team is off to an 2-1 start. "I do a lot of drills so that they're consistent first, and then we work on pace later. We want strong execution with our shots, and minimal unforced errors."

Carter returns as James Wood's No. 1 singles player, and Morrison has been impressed by the amount of time he's spent working on his game in preparation for this season. As long as all the Colonels are working hard and having fun, that's all Morrison can ask.

"We've got a lot of challenges ahead of us, but the team is looking forward to attempting to win more matches than last season," Morrison said. "The more fun you have, the more time you're going to spend practicing, and that will lead to improvement in your game."

Next match: Friday at Musselman (W.Va.)