Mission Tennis: Return of the King

The Mission tennis team will have one returning state champion

and a plethora of athletes that could make a lot of noise on both

the boys' and girls' rosters.

The Mission tennis team will have one returning state champion and a plethora of athletes that could make a lot of noise on both the boys' and girls' rosters.

"We have the most kids out that we have had in a while," Mission head coach Kimimi Ashley said. "I'm feeling very excited because we have a great group of kids out on both the girls and boys sides. There are lots of new faces and they are all very coachable and wanting to be out on the courts."

With 18 boys and 15 girls, the Mission tennis teams should be deep.

"It can be hard to focus the one-on-one attention that they all need," Ashley said. "This is a nice challenge to have though and they are helping each other out a lot in feeding and the more experienced ones are lending the new players tips."

Senior Spencer Ahlborn was the 2010 State Singles Tennis champion in Class B and will obviously be looking to repeat. Ahlborn was just the second player in school history to win the singles' state title.

Senior Bryan Schock, sophomore Kyle Schock and senior Trail Bundy are also looking to make a splash at state this year.

Freshman Karl Daniels could be a big player for the Bulldogs.

"He is rounding out a talented bunch of boys and would fit in well in either the singles or doubles aspect of the team," Ashley said.

For the girls, there's plenty of talent stepping out onto the courts.

"Sarah Bowers and Jane Makepeace are both juniors that are itching to have a year as the No. 1 and No. 2 singles," Ashley said. "They are being backed up by some newcomers to the sport that have the potential to bring those team points at divisionals."

Ashley said that she felt the girls have a good chance of bring the girls divisional championship home with their core group of athletic players.

"They are all new in learning tennis, but catch on quickly and with a little extra time should do very well," Ashley said.

Newcomers Sydney Allard, Mackenzie Trudeau, Ashley Courville, Robyn Mitchell, Katie Hogge, Morgan Andres and Cierra Dougherty should all be looking for top spots on the team this year.

With high numbers and no shortage of talent, Mission tennis teams should be a force this season in Class B.