The Iola High boys tennis team is returning some much needed experience from last year.
Sophomore Ethan Riebel is coming off a season in which he fell in the Class 4A regionals in singles play to Labette County’s Cannon Dixon.
Senior Luke Wicoff will also lead the bunch. Last year, Wicoff played doubles with then-sophomore Kendall Glaze.
Others signed up to play are freshmen Zach Pfaff, Payton Kern Trapper Boren and Brody Thompson, and sophomores Griffin Westervelt and Raiden Kern..
Head coach Chris Belknap is relying on his pair of veterans to help guide the newcomers along the path to becoming good competitors and learning the intricacies of the game.
Belknap is focused on keeping tennis fun and exciting for his players. This is Belknap’s third year coaching the boys tennis team. He’s coached the girls for four years now.
Belknap said he aims for each player to have a goal of getting better every day as well as setting one big goal for the season at which they will work on achieving throughout the spring.
The Mustangs begin their season at Independence on Monday, March 27 at 3 p.m. Iola plays at Neodesha on April 1 at 3 p.m. and at Chanute on April 4 at 3 p.m. Regionals begin on May 5 and the state meet is May 12-13.
