BROOKINGS The Brookings girls tennis teams have new leaders this season as the Bobcats have new co-head coaches.
Matt Crawford and Jace Wernsmann are the new head coaches and led Brookings to its first victory over the season. Crawford is from Brookings and graduated from BHS in 2010 and Wensemen is from Pierre and graduated in 2018.
The Bobcats are 1-7 through their first eight duals of the season but Crawford said he thinks things have been pretty good so far this season, especially since there are new players and coaches.
I think things have been going well. I did not play tennis in high school and just started playing a few years ago. [Wernsmann] played in high school, so theres a good dynamic there. We also both work at Solventum and my schedule is more flexible where I can be at practices and then he can come to matches. I think the girls have been responding well to what we have been teaching so far, Crawford said.
Brookings has six players that play varsity matches in Annika Hooda, Muxi Tian, Sanhita Tummala, Alison Glover, Maya Gent and Brielle Smetana. Crawford broke down how each player earned their spot and how they have been playing so far this season.
Annika is a senior and shes been playing the longest, Crawford said. I think shes a good leader for the team and you can see that a lot of girls look up to her. She plays hard and has a good game. Muxi is a seventh grader and is new to the area. Shes got a great game and is going to be great in the future. Shes gaining experience as the season goes on and I think thats the biggest thing for her. Shes probably going to be at the top of Brookings tennis for a long time. Sanhita plays hard and is fun to watch. Shes a freshman so shes also going to be at the top of Brookings tennis for a long time hopefully.
Alison Glover is a sophomore. She played varsity last season and is bringing back that varsity experience and has a great attitude. Alison and Maya play doubles together and are good friends that bring a lot of positive energy to practice and on the court, which is nice. Brielle is also a senior and worked really hard to earn that sixth spot and she deserves it. I think you can see her improvement and she plays hard.
Brookings has struggled in tennis for a while and Crawford acknowledged that. He said that he and Wernsmann did not set any goals for wins or losses or how they would finish at the conference or State Tournament. Instead, they want the girls to have fun and keep improving throughout the season, while also trying to get more girls involved in the Brookings tennis program.
The goal for the season is for the girls to have fun and for them to keep gaining skills and learning. Mainly we want for them to have fun and have them want to be out on the court more. We want them to have as much court time as possible and getting more numbers and more people out on the court is one of the main goals, Crawford said.
The Bobcats return to the court on Friday for a home triangular where they will take on Rapid City Central and Watertown at the Hillcrest Tennis Courts.
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