Girls' tennis brings back solid players

The girls' tennis team will return eight players to their team this year and will add 16 new players to their squad.

Coach Marti Dale told The Nugget it will be a building year for the young, eager and athletic players.

Four seniors are back for another season, including Stephanie Napier, Jill Zapeda, Nikki Thomas and Liz Dale.

Napier played No. 4 singles last year. Stephanie is a versatile, solid player and will be able to play at both the single and doubles positions.

Zapeda played No. 2 doubles with Dale last year. She is aggressive and unafraid at the net which makes her a great doubles player.

Coach Dale told The Nugget she expects strong offensive play and solid serving from Zapeda.

Thomas is a versatile player and loves the game.

"Nikki learns quickly. She's very persistent and will be a good single or doubles player," said Dale.

Liz Dale is currently out with a knee injury she suffered during the ski season. Dale is recovering from surgery and, with therapy and hard work, the team hopes to have her back by the end of the season.

Juniors Ashlee Garau, Tori Miller and Marissa Tosello are back for another season, as well as sophomore Sarah Brown.

Garua participated in several tournaments in the off season and spent a lot of time working on her singles game.

"Ashlee is mentally strong. She's a solid single player with solid ground strokes," said Dale.

Miller is a doubles player and good at the net. Tori is quick on her feet, competitive and a quick learner.

According to Dale, Tosello is a very athletic player who learned a lot last year. Dale said Marissa is enthusiastic and eager to learn and expects Tosello to pick up where she left off last year and continue to improve her game.

Brown is a great singles player who is good offensively and has a very nice serve.

Eighteen other girls joined the girls' tennis program this year and will vie for spots on the varsity team.

Dale will be assisted by Jan Pray-Houk, the former tennis pro at Eagle Crest Resort.

"Jan brings a wealth of tennis experience as a collegiate and United States tennis Association (USTA) player," said Dale.

Dale is also very excited about the prevention program the girls' tennis team will be adding to their training.

"We are incorporating a knee and ankle injury prevention program into our daily training sessions. We will do this with the help of Zadow Physical Therapy, and we hope this program will reduce the risk of our players for knee and ankle injuries," added Dale.

The girls' team kicks off their season with a home match against North Marion on Wednesday, March 14.