TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Highlands Today

Red Devil Netters Ready For Action

Brian Gjurgevich/Highlands Today

Avon Park senior Angie Carillo leads the Red Devils in today's opening match against DeSoto. at SFCC.

ADVERTISEMENT

By MARK PINSON Highlands Today

Published: February 23, 2009

AVON PARK - With only one returner back from last year's squad, the Avon Park girls tennis team is focusing on the fundamentals as the season approaches.

Leading the way for the Red Devils is senior Angie Carillo, who is in her fourth year of varsity tennis, and was a member of the 2008 All-Heartland team.

"Angie will play at number one for us in singles and doubles," said Avon Park coach Melinda Pollitt. "She has a positive attitude, is very aggressive and has the experience to handle the pressure of playing against the best player on every team we face.

"She has been working hard on her own game and has tried to help the other girls on the team with their form and technique."

The rest of the Red Devils are fairly new to the sport at the varsity level.

Freshman Kayla Lockhart brings a great deal of potential to the court.

"Kayla has played before with her brother Phil, who was a member of the boys team a couple of years ago," said Pollitt. "She is a quick learner and listens well.

"She wants to improve and has a great attitude."

Senior Quinterica Gordon played on the tennis team her freshman and sophomore years and is back after not competing as a junior.

"Quinterica has some experience and a very positive attitude," said Pollitt. "She is getting back in the groove and gives us a solid player that can compete at several different positions for us."

Freshman Heather Bass is new to the sport, but brings a great deal of athleticism to the team.

"Heather picked up a racket for the first time a couple of weeks ago," Pollitt said. "She is a perfectionist and expects a lot of herself, which is good to an extent.

"We're trying to get her to relax, not be so hard on herself and just focus on improving with each match she plays."

Sophomore Amanda Sanders is very athletic and has played on the soccer team and run track.

"Amanda is new to the sport, but has a lot of athletic ability and just needs to keep working on her game," said Pollitt. "She is eager to learn and is very coachable."

Junior Danielle French is learning the game for the first time and brings a great attitude to the team.

"Danielle is a lot of fun and wants to improve," said the Red Devil coach. "She listens to instruction well and will improve every time she steps on the court."

Freshman Lindsey McLeod rounds out the team.

"We're so young and inexperienced that we started with the basics of how to hold the racket and how to keep score," said Pollitt. "The girls are doing the best they can and that's all a coach can ask for.

"It's going to be a learning year for us, but if the girls hang in there, we can set a solid foundation so that we'll be competitive the next few years."

Avon Park opens the season today with a home match against Class 2A-District 9 rival DeSoto at the South Florida Community College tennis courts.

Mark Pinson can be reached at 863-386-5837 or mpinson@highlandstoday.com

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT