Preview: Boy's Tennis

Coach: Mark Pennypacker, 1st year

Last year: 3-14 (0-8 Northwestern District); lost to Handley in district tournament semifinals.

Key losses: Devin Carter, Luke Davenport.

Top returning players: Mason Beeler, Jr., Travis Beeler, Jr., Christian Whitacre, So., Michael Weimer, Sr.; Kevin Realegeno, So.

Newcomers: Austin Harney, Fr., Jacob Calabrese, Fr.

Outlook: The Colonels are coming off a rough season, and they lose a major player in Carter, who advanced to the Region II tournament in singles.

As a result, Pennypacker just wants his team to focus on the basics, and so far, he couldn’t be more pleased with their work ethic.

“We have a number of young men who haven’t played before,” said Pennypacker, whose team was 0-2 after losing to Washington (W.Va.) 9-0 on Wednesday. “We had a tough match Wednesday, but three of the boys stayed on for an hour after the match to work on their game.

“We emailed the athletic director because we hadn’t seen anything like that before after a competition. It shows they’re passionate about it and want to get better.”

The Colonels do have some experience though. Pennypacker said he’ll definitely be relying on the Beeler brothers’ knowledge, and they’ll play No. 1 and 2 singles this season.