Clarke Central High School’s boys tennis comes together as a team before their match against Apalachee High School. The team encourages each other with support and good lucks because of the lack of practice they have had due to rain. “When it comes time for a match and you haven’t practiced or prepared for it, you find yourself making more unforced errors, which could cost you the match,” freshman Christopher Dellaria said.
Story and photo by SOPHIE FERNANDES – Staff Photographer
Clarke Central High School’s tennis teams will play four matches over the coming week due to matches that have been cancelled because of inclement weather.
Because of weather conditions, four tennis matches were cancelled and rescheduled for the week of March 23-27. Both the boys and girls teams will play three of their matches in Athens at Bishop Park and the Athens Tennis Center and will play at Loganville on Fri., March 27.
This updated schedule has become a weight on many of CCHS tennis players’ shoulders, as the back-to-back meets can be tiring and stressful. Head tennis coach Stephen Hinson says the rescheduling of meets is strenuous.
“It’s always very difficult to reschedule meets because we don’t play our matches at the school,” Hinson said. “If I have to reschedule a home match, I not only have to coordinate the reschedule with the opposing coach, but I (also) have to go through the Leisure Services Department of Athens-Clarke County.”
Unfortunately, a solution for this dilemma does not exist. Due to a lack of practice caused by rainy weather, several members of the tennis team feel unprepared for their rescheduled matches.
Senior Tomislav Žabčić-Matić says the effect weather has on the team is evident.
“The rain has made it tough for us, and has made us miss practices as well as matches. We’ve struggled to get our game back into shape and next week will be hard, but each match will give us more practice, and we should be able to pull off several wins,” Žabčić-Matić said.