Last season for the first time in a long time, Fountain Central boys tennis was a young and relatively an in-experienced team. That didn’t stop the Mustangs from still finishing with a winning record. This year FC brings back nearly everyone member from the 2022 squad and longtime coach Chris Webb is hoping his team can build off the lessons they learned a season ago.
“We played the majority of the season last year with freshmen at both No.1 and No. 2 singles,” he said. “Playing at the varsity level for a freshman can be daunting, let alone playing in the top two spots. Skyler Hoagland and Gabe McCollum, while only sophomores, have that year of experience to draw from as they play singles this year. So, while we have gained experience from last year, several teams around us will prove to be tough matchups. We hope to be able to flip some results from last season.”
Along with Hoagland and McCollum the Mustangs return senior Lukas Miller, and a core of four juniors that include Noah Armstrong, Wes Jackson, Brayden Prickett, and Koby Wolf.
While the Mustangs may still be a young team, according to Webb, they have the desire and work ethic to want to get better. Webb has already loved what he’s seen during the off-season and in the first couple of practices as FC nears the beginning of it’s season.
“This team rivals almost any team I have coached in the past in terms of off-season work,” he said. “Several of our players participated in clinics, lessons, and tournaments in the off-season to improve their game. That is also true at the Junior High level. This work is paying off, as most of our players are starting the season playing better than they ended last season.”
FC has begun the season 2-0 with a 3-2 win over Crawfordsville in their season opener and a 5-0 win over Frankfort.
