Lady Lynx tennis: Young, but experienced

Young, but experienced are the words Coach Adam Rothenberger uses to describe this year’s Lady Lynx tennis team.

That scenario could make some coaches uneasy, but not Rothenberger, who has great confidence in four returning letter winners – all underclassmen. 

“We’re young, but with four girls coming back from last year we’re experienced, and they’ll be able to help out our two new players,” he said.

Rothenberger’s confidence starts with sophomore Tanna Lehfeldt, who returns to her flight 1 singles role, as well as partnering with sophomore Sydney Pelletier in flight doubles. Pelletr will  also compete at flight 2 singles.

“Tanna’s coming back after playing in some tournaments this summer and is looking stronger than she was last year,” the third-year head coach said.

Kate Lundberg, the lone junior on the squad, will fill the flight 3 singles slot.

“Kate coming back at three, we’ll have a little more experience, so I kind of like where she’s at,” the coach said.

Freshman Annabelle Schultz moves up from her No. 6 slot to No. 4 singles this season, while Adriauna Alexander (eighth grade) and Marie Pelletier (seventh grader) have been assigned flights 5 and 6, respectively. Tashlynne Badger could also see action in No. 3 doubles.

While Rothenberger has the flights assigned in singles, and No. 1 and 2 doubles, the third flight is yet to be determined. 

“Our one and two are looking to be set – Tanna and Sydney are probably one, Kate and Bella are two. Three is the one I’ll be mixing around some teams on Friday (at the home quadrangular),” he explains.

Rothenberger and company expect to take some hits this season. But that isn’t going to stop the squad from battling, he said.

“For us, it’s just kind of taking our lumps and learning from our losses. We need to stay focused as far as getting better each day. Our motto this year is, ‘Getting 1 percent better every day,’ so just picking one little thing each day to work on, I think that should help us,” he said.

The Lady Lynx are coming off a middle-of-the-pack finish in the Metro Conference last year, and Rothenberger puts the Lady Lynx in that same position this season.

“Lincoln still looks to be the dominate team for the Metro, and O’Gorman will be good again. It sounds like they picked up some girls from Rapid City – one played for Stevens, one played for St. Thomas More - so they’ll be good again; they just reload,” he said.

Both Roosevelt and Washington, Rothenberger said, are inexperienced. “They did come back a little stronger but I like where we’re at and I can see us at three or four,” he said.

A trio of Eastern South Dakota Conference teams could present challenges for the Lynx this season. Rothenberger puts Mitchell at the top of the list.

“Mitchell’s going to be really good, I put them to be the favorite in the ESD, so hopefully, we’ll (place) between three and five, realistically,” he said.

Harrisburg, who had a “great year last year,” according to Rothenberger, returns with their same lineup, has his respect, as does Watertown.

Brandon Valley claimed 10^th at state in 2016, just a few points shy of ninth place, and the team hopes to improve on that placing as well. 

Once again, Rothenberger believes the 2017 Lady Lynx will be a fun team to watch.

“Again, because we’re young, we’re going to turn some heads, and so we’re always going to be a fun team to watch,” he said.

The Lady Lynx opened their 2017 campaign with a home quadrangular against Rapid City Stevens, Watertown and Brookings, and on Monday were scheduled for a dual at Roosevelt. This week, the team heads to Rapid City for three days of action.

“It’s nice for us to have that home court advantage and kind of take an easy, I guess I would say,” Rothenberger says of the team’s early schedule. “Our top six have put in a lot of work in the summer, so we’re looking athletic and sharp and hoping we have a good Friday,” he said.