The tennis courts at the Mack Chase Athletic Complex on a preseason Monday were a flurry of activity.
On one court, junior varsity athletes underwent an exercise designed to teach them to quickly and correctly score a match. Across three others, members of the Bulldog varsity worked on their conditioning, while the Lady Bulldog varsity split into pairs for a doubles practice round.
Presiding over it all was now-solo head coach Tim Trentham. Previously in charge of only the girls, Trentham takes the helm of the entire program this year, with help from two assistants.
“I’ve come full circle,” he said. “Ten years. When I first came here, I started under George (Holmes), and he was over the whole thing. But it’s grown since then.”
From the days of a dozen or so players competing on the courts at Jaycee Park, the Artesia High School tennis program now consists of approximately 50 athletes. It’s a nice problem to have, although an occasional challenge to ensure everyone logs as much court time as they need.
“The kids at the varsity level need a little more experience, a little more time on the court, and it can be a struggle trying to get everybody organized and find a way to utilize the courts in order to get everybody the maximum number of hours,” Trentham said. “But we’ve got some pretty good athletes, and I’m pleased with what I’m seeing so far.”
The Lady Bulldog varsity returns all of its starters from the 2015 season, and with plenty of experience under their belts, is hoping to make a run at a district title this year.
“The girls are promising,” said Trentham. “We’re really hoping to get some district wins this year, and I think we have a good shot. Roswell was a powerhouse for several years, but they’ve graduated a large group. Lovington is well-coached but lost a couple of their top girls, and I think Goddard is going to be pretty strong competition.”
On the boys’ side, varsity experience is more limited, but the ‘Dogs have talent to spare.
“We have a pretty good core group of kids,” Trentham said. “We have four returners from last year, two of whom have plenty of match experience, and the rest are coming along really well.
“Roswell graduated a lot of boys, also, Lovington is going to be really good competition, and the Goddard boys are always good because their kids are a little more experienced, so we’re looking forward to district there, as well.”
The teams travelled Feb. 19-20 to the Onate Invitational in Las Cruces for their first taste of tournament action, coming away with impressive results.
The Flight One boys’ doubles team of Peyton Prothro and Jake Trejo took first place overall to help the Bulldogs finish a solid third out of 10 teams. Jamey Kennemur topped Flight One of the boys’ consolation singles bracket, and Josiah Kraft took second in Flight Two singles.
For the Lady Bulldogs, Melissa Richards finished third in the Flight Two girls’ singles bracket, and the doubles duo of Hailey Ashe and Nicole Marquez won the Flight Two consolation bracket. The Artesia girls were fifth overall out of a field of 10.
With their ambitions set and their focus on improvement over the course of the next few tournaments in Lovington, Roswell and Carlsbad, the Bulldogs and Lady ‘Dogs are hoping to make some noise this season, and Trentham believes they have the tools to do it.
“We’re excited for what’s coming,” said the coach. “We’re hoping to do well. Everybody has some goals in mind. The girls have the challenge of not resting on the fact that they’re all returning, and I know the boys are fired up this year to get some new blood on the court.
“We’ve got a little bit of a chance of pace as far as the way we’re running practices and things like that, so everybody seems pumped up and ready to go.”
