Young Fontbonne Tennis Team Welcomes New Coach

With some young players to work with and a new coach in place, the girls’ tennis team will certainly have its challenges cut out this spring season.

Michael Merritt, who was hired in the off-season, will aim to guide the Ducks to a successful season and a potential berth in the MIAA tournament.

“Our expectations are to be prepared, to show up and to do the best we can,’’ said Merritt. “We hope to learn from every match and to improve from last year. We have a nice balance of experienced returning players and promising newcomers that can really give us a chance to have a strong season.

Leading the way for the Ducks will be first singles and junior tri-captain, Alyssa Melendez, who’s fared impressive in pre-season challenge matches while senior tri-captain Kendall Moussa and Amanda Nagin-Williams, a junior tri-captain, will aim to solidify the first doubles’ squad.

“The captains have done a great job working with the younger players,’’ said Merritt. “They’ve been working hard and have been giving it a great effort. They’re a hard working group of girls and they’ve constantly challenged each other throughout the pre-season.”

While Merritt hasn’t had his lineup finalized yet, he’s counting on number of freshmen and sophomores to fill out the varsity roster.

Newcomers to the team for the Ducks include sophomores Olivia Smith and Sara Wolfsberg, both of whom are fighting for the final two singles positions.

As for the other positions, the challenges will be from a solid group of freshmen that includes Sylvie Grenier, Kaitlin O’Leary along with Kim Herbert, Collette O’Connor, Elizabeth Magnuson and Abby Plouffe.

“The freshmen have looked very promising, and it’s always great to see how enthusiastic they are,’’ said Merritt. “It’s been a very encouraging pre-season, and I’m very excited as to what this season brings. It’s going to be very challenging, but at the same time, it’s something that I’m really looking forward to as a coach.”

As for an outlook, Merritt is optimistic that the Ducks will be able to hold ground against some of the tougher opponents on the schedule.

“They’re going to be some really tough opponents on the schedule, and we’re going to have to be ready for the challenge,’’ said Merritt. “The captains have done a great job staying focused. The girls have really worked hard, and they’re ready to go.”

Despite a relatively young squad to work with, Merritt is hopeful that the Ducks can overcome some early inexperience on the court en route to some wins in the early going.

“Our strengths are returning players from last year, due to their match experiences,’’ said Merritt. “We have a lot of newcomers to the team, two sophomores, six freshmen, but they are working hard, and will improve with each match, as experience goes a long way. Hard work brings results, and these newcomers will learn their experience from playing matches, and can only get better due to their work ethic. The girls have been a pleasure to coach so far, and I’m looking forward to the season.”