Ronan tennis teams start play Thursday
Ethan Smith/ Leader<br>Kyle Orr will take the number one singles spot for Ronan. Here he returns one against a teammate in practice earlier this week.
The Ronan tennis squads are a mixed bag this year, with the boys having a lot of seniors while the girls are younger and looking to fill the void left by their number one and two players last year.
The girls lost Brooke Cornelius and Amanda Oberg, their top two players, to graduation, while the boys lost half their No. 1 doubles team in the form of Acorn Lonnie.
But seven of the 10 boys this year are seniors, head coach Gordon Cummings noted, while the girls are younger but eager to play.
The girls will be led by Leslie Morigeau and Jenna Rody in the top two spots. Both girls are in their third year with the team and saw divisional tourney action last year. Rody had some doubles experience while Morigeau mainly played singles action, Cummings said.
The girls No. 1 doubles team will be Amanda Courville and Chazz West, who played together last year.
"They work really well together," Cummings said.
For the boys, Kyle Orr will take the No. 1 singles spot, and Ryon Hesselgesser will have the two-spot. Both players are in their second year.
"Kyle is a very hard worker, very competitive and athletic," Cummings said.
For doubles, Devon Goldsby and Cody Rogers will start out as the No. 1 team, although Cummings said he's got several guys who could fill that team, and will make adjustments as the season goes on to find out which partners match up the best.
Cummings said he expects the Dillon girls squad to be tops, while Corvallis and Stevi should be strong on the boys side. The Ronan team is in the southern conference, but will also play Whitefish, Bigfork and Polson this year.
The team kicks off the season by hosting Whitefish today (Thursday) at 4 p.m. before traveling to Stevi this weekend and then Mission next Tuesday.