In high school sports, a team’s win-loss record may not always be the ultimate barometer for how a team’s season has gone. One prime example of that is the Mingus girls tennis team.
The Marauders defeated Cactus High School 7-2 on Friday, April 16, to pick up their second win of the season. But given that the Mingus team was roughly half veteran players and half new players when the season started, expecting a great win-loss record was not realistic. Coach Andrea Meyer has seen a marked improvement in the younger players, which has shown on the court during matches.
“A highlight has been watching our youngest players gain so much and coming back in the second part of the season after spring break,” Meyer said. “Knowing how to address the ball better, being more confident in their follow throughs, and actually giving strong matches to our opponents and even winning some of those matches.”
And there have been highlights along the way, as well. One was against a Prescott team that Meyer pointed out often defeats the Marauders 1-8 or 9-0. This match was far more competitive, with the Badgers winning 6-3. The Mingus doubles teams actually got the better of their Prescott opponents, winning 2-1 before the Badgers won the singles session 5-1.
And there have been highlights in wins, as well. One came on in that April 16 match against Cactus, which was senior night for Marauders players Angel Franco and Destiny Swapp. Swapp won her doubles match with freshman partner Makela Martinez as well as her singles match. Franco lost her doubles match with partner Aine Khin but bounced back to win her singles match.
Another came on Wednesday, April 7, when Mingus took on Raymond S. Kellis. The Cougars opened up a 2-1 lead in the doubles session but the Marauders came back in singles. Two singles matches went to a third and final set with Mingus needing to win both to secure the match. Sophomore Hailey Robinson dominated her third set, winning 10-2. Swapp’s third set was closer but she ultimately prevailed 10-7 to secure the win for the Marauders.
“It came down to Destiny’s match and she won it in a tiebreaker,” Meyer said. “She had to concentrate, keep her courage up and that last match won it for us.”
A match against Barry Goldwater High School on Monday, April 19 marked another milestone for Mingus. The Marauders defeated the Bulldogs 9-0, the first time this team had ever completed shut out an opponent. The three doubles matches went 8-6, 8-3 and 8-2 while all of the six singles matches were decided in straight sets.
And it’s not just the matches that the Mingus players have enjoyed. They also play games with each other during practice. At least in some cases, that’s been the highlight of the Marauders season.
“My favorite part of the season has been whenever we play a game during practice,” Franco said. “I love playing those games. A friendly sense of competitiveness comes out in the team and we all have a great time.”
Another thing for the Marauders to be upbeat about is that while this team was largely inexperienced to start the year, that shouldn’t be the case next season. Franco and Swapp are the only two seniors on the roster. And while there are five juniors, there are also two sophomores and five freshmen, which should give Mingus a good foundation beyond even 2022.
Those will be big losses. Meyer praised Franco for going out of her way to make every player on the team feel included. But as far as returning players go, she also lauded Khin for her ability to lead on the court. She also praised the competitive spirit of Martinez and junior Brooke McCracken.
The Mingus slogan throughout the season has been to “Be a B.E.A.S.T.” with BEAST standing for Body Language, Energy, Attitude, Self-Talk and Team. Meyer said that she found that to be especially helpful with a young team, as it gave her something to focus on that the girls could see. But the Marauders are hopeful that a more experienced team next year will continue to bring out the beast and also keep improving.
“We have a lot of freshman girls so hopefully they’ll stay and we’ll have a pretty big team next year,” Khin said. “And we’ll do better because a lot of us will have more experience.”
