Fountain Central boys tennis has always been a stable of consistency here in the area. The Mustangs a year ago fell 3-2 to Covington in the sectional title game with a fairly young roster. Now with a year of experience behind them, FC is geared up to contend for championships again in 2023.
The Mustangs bring back a great core of their roster from a year ago with losing just a single senior from last years team. Both Skyler Hoagland and Gabe McCollum will be back manning the No. 1 and No. 2 singles spots. Add in Noah Armstrong, Wes Jackson, Brayden Prickett and Koby Wolf all back for their senior seasons and FC will be a team that is built for success.
“Our focus remains the same this season as last, which is to play our best tennis at the end of the season, and try to find a way to win WRC and sectional titles,” longtime FC coach Chris Webb said. “The players we return have the experience, and have been in tough match situations through the last two seasons that will, hopefully, propel them to reach those goals.”
This season does bring a change to the post-season with sectional changes for the Mustangs. Covington remains as the only team that was in the sectional a year ago as now both Parke Heritage and South Vermillion enter into the sectional which is always hosted by the Mustangs. The friendly rivalry that FC and Covington have built over the years is one that both teams enjoy. Webb knows that it’ll likely come down to his team having to take down their rivals if they want to re-claim the sectional crown.
“Coach Field and his team put together six remarkable seasons in a row, and set a high standard for what small schools can do in sectional play,” Webb said of Covington. “While we aren’t necessarily motivated to defeat one particular team, we know that we will, most likely, have to find a way to defeat them if we want to win a sectional title. Parke Heritage also poses quite a threat, with several returning players from last years team. Their singles lineup returns both 1 and 2 singles, as well as a strong doubles lineup.”
The Mustangs already have a match against Crawfordsville under their belts from Tuesday, (4-1 loss). FC will be back in action Monday when they travel to take on another MoCo team in the Southmont Mounties.
