STARKVILLE, Miss.– The Starkville High tennis team held their second match of the season at home against Amory High School, Thursday, February 25.

A total of six varsity matches and four junior varsity matches took place on the Starkville courts.
Sophomores Nicholas Popescu and Jeremy Dawe played boys’ doubles. Popescu and Dawe won their match with a straight set score of 8-1.

“With the start of the season we’re typically out on the court every day, we play a lot of rallies, fake games, and work on our technique to get into the game mindset.” Popescu said. “Playing with a partner adds to the preparation, you have to get used to their playing style and develop trust with each other to really become a team.”

Senior Claire Potts plays doubles with senior partner Sarah Strickland. The pair won their game 8-0.

“When I first started playing the sport, I didn’t realize how much I loved it, but after running cross country I realized how much fun I had being on the team and the environment of the team and how we all work to get better,” Potts said.

Sophomore Sophie Butler and doubles partner senior Neely Wells won their match with a set score of 8-6.

“We’ve really had to grow fast this season as a team because of all the time we lost last season due to corona, but we have added safety features like the sanitation station to ensure that the team won’t be quarantined and can keep playing and getting better,” Butler said.

The SHS Jacket tennis team has many games scheduled but are most excited to play Heritage Academy and Germantown High School to hopefully come back from the losses they experienced last season. The team’s next game is March 2, at 4 p.m. versus Heritage Academy.