With the Owatonna Boys Tennis regular season coming to an end, they look to make one final push to secure a good seed for both individual and team sections. The Huskies have a current Big Nine record of 7-3 and an overall record of 10-3 with a rescheduled match against Rochester John Marshall and their Big Nine meet left in the regular season.
As the team continues to improve and grow, there are many factors that contribute to it. One is the constant practice and competitiveness within those practices. Head Coach Curt Matecjek said, “Whether it be the top of our lineup or down to some of our newer JV players, everybody has been pushing each other on a daily basis, and that makes everybody play better.”
While the team is super competitive, they still continue to grow and gain better chemistry. Junior captain Finn Loveless said, “Just spending that much time with their partners and learning each other’s habits, weaknesses and strengths allows them to build a stronger relationship together.”
While the team’s overall lineup has remained the same for most of the season, the team has now gained back senior captain, Thomas Herzog. This now brings a new approach as he will fit into the rotation once again. Matecjek said, “Prior to Herzog’s return we had many players step up in positions, but with Herzog’s return he will help strengthen our team whether in singles or doubles going into sections.”
With the upcoming section games the Huskies look to bring their best come that time. Loveless said, “The end of the regular season is where sometimes we start to see injuries or burnout and I think we are just trying to keep the momentum going and not let our intensity drop going into sections.”
The Huskies next game is away on Friday, May 10 at 4:15 p.m. against Rochester John Marshall.