After a ton of off-season work, Drake Borden returns to anchor the Coupeville High School boys tennis squad at #1 singles. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
Zach Ginnings is part of a solid core of returning Wolf players.
He’s never been in this position before.
Longtime Coupeville High School boys tennis guru Ken Stange has built a successful program, one which has boasted deep rosters and plenty of success.
But this season he’s facing the prospect of trying to achieve the latter without having the former.
Eight days out from their first match, the Wolves have just seven players.
While they’re all returnees, that’s not even enough netters to fill a full varsity lineup.
Coupeville needs eight men, with their league matches consisting of two singles players and three doubles teams.
With school starting Tuesday, there’s hope of at least one freshman showing up, and Stange and Co. continue to chase down every lead which might lead to a CHS boy with a pulse.
But, even if they get any late-comers, the Wolves will have to forfeit a match in each of their hard-court rumbles until the newbie(s) get 10 practices under their belt.
While he doesn’t have much depth, Stange does have a solid core of players, led by Drake Borden, who inherits the #1 singles slot from the graduated Jakobi Baumann.
“Our strength is having seven returning players with experience,” Stange said. “Another strength is Drake, who played all off-season and is primed for a solid season.”
Backing Borden are Mason Grove, James Wood, Zach Ginnings, Andrew Aparicio, Thane Peterson, and Koby Schreiber.
Of the returning players, two – Borden and Ginnings – played in the postseason last year.
Regardless of how many players he ends up with, Stange enters the season with the same mind-set he’s employed for the past decade-and-a-half.
“I expect us to compete hard and win some more individual matches,” he said. “I hope our team is able to win a few, too.”
While all of Coupeville’s other sports teams compete in the North Sound Conference, tennis joins up with South Whidbey to take on the private school powerhouses who camp out in the ultra-exclusive Emerald City League.
It’s a conference led by perennial state title contenders University Prep and Seattle Academy, and no match is an easy match.
But the Wolves made a nice statement for public schools everywhere last year, finishing in the top half of the eight teams in the ECL.
It might not have a deep roster in year two, but Coupeville has no intention of backing down quietly.
“We finished fourth in the league last year,” Stange said. “Finishing that well again would mean we had a strong season.”
Coupeville opens Sept. 11 at home against South Whidbey.
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