FARMINGTON, Minn. -- Tiger boys tennis only graduated one senior from last season's team and welcomes four new players to the squad this spring, a couple of middle schoolers and others recruited by their friends.

Coach Emma Grosse says the new players have the basics down, "I think it's really exciting as a coach to be able to see some fresh players and just see the joy in learning and see things start to click. They have some experience of playing tennis, not from a team standpoint."

Senior captain Ben Monson came on board the varsity program as a seventh grader and appreciates how the older players welcomed him, "They were very proud. They were very personable with everybody. They're able to make you feel at home on the team. That's what I want to do."

Monson expects to play two-singles or one-doubles, "I'm only playing for myself (in singles). If I mess up, that's ok. It's on me. If I lose, I lose. If I win, I've earned that myself. Playing on doubles, it's nice to have that teamwork and being able to have someone that supports you and can help you when you're down or can get shots when you can't."

Junior Lucas Deplazes came into the sport a couple of years ago, "My little sister (Katrina) actually decided she wanted to start playing tennis with some friends and I just wanted something to do with her. And one of the captains, Riley Watson, he pushed me a lot to join the tennis team.

"There's been a lot of development coming from me, especially help from my coaches. And former and current teammates have helped a lot. I've improved a lot and I am excited to see how it'll go. Because I know the off season went pretty well for me."
Deplazes balanced captains practice for tennis with baseball and basketball activities.

He mainly played two-doubles last season, "I like the teamwork aspect. I like to talk to people while we're playing, so it's nice to have that other person to communicate with."

Grosse says the team has resilience, "That is the biggest strength, and I don't think they realize they have it. But I think it's also a strength how they can really come together as a new group every year and find ways to be a very strong, cohesive bunch of boys."

Schedule
The season is a quick one with barely a month from the first match (April 7 at Eastview) to the final regular season contest (May 5 versus Apple Valley). The original season opener with Northfield on April 2 was postponed by the inclement weather to April 24.

The new home opener is on Thursday, April 9 against Shakopee at 4 pm at the FHS courts. The team plays a triangular on Monday, April 13 at New Prague with New Ulm and has a tri-meet the next day at Lakeville South with Albert Lea. Each of those is a 3 pm start.

The Tigers close with three of their final four dates at home at the end of April and start of May.

Team sections begin on May 11. Individual sections start on May 19. The 12-team Section 1AA includes both Lakeville schools, all three Rochester teams, Albert Lea, Austin, Faribault, Northfield, Owatonna and Winona.

The goals
"At Farmington we just have so much fun," Monson says. "I think the main priority for us on this team is having fun while playing. It's fun to be out here. Everybody's super nice."

He wants everyone to maintain a good perspective, "You want to try your hardest. You want to have a good time. If you lose, don't take it too hard. The hardest thing about this, is when you lose and you put your whole soul into it, it can crush you sometimes. If you're able to separate yourself from it a little bit, it makes the game so much more fun."

Grosse stresses, "Goal number one is always have fun. Honestly, I want them to enjoy coming out. I know that their competitive goals, each of them have that individually. I know that we as a team, we want to win, who doesn't. But I think the more they enjoy it, the more they're willing to grow, the more they're willing to learn, the better the memories are. And that's part of high school sports."

Deplazes is focused on a particular aspect of his game, "My biggest goal is to improve my serve. It's the most unique aspect in playing tennis. I know it's something I struggle with the most. And I would like to improve my consistency."

Grosse says each team has its own identity, "It's always a shift from season to season. It's not necessarily a loss, but it's a shift when there's a new team, there's a new collective team. The people that have played for a few years have the memories from prior seasons and the new players don't. Sometimes it's just adjusting to the new group of people."