Kennett Girls' Tennis prepares for upcoming season

Coming into the 2010 season, the Kennett High School girls' tennis team is looking for something that they missed out on last season: a district title.

"Our main goal is to win districts," said head coach Janet Hilburn. "Last season we placed second in our district and we're looking to build from that."

There are currently 20 girls that are on the team and all of them will be competing for spots on the varsity and junior varsity roster.

Despite the number of girls participating this season, Hilburn said that it really doesn't make it hard to place the girls in their spots for each match. "I've always had a decent number of girls come out every season and I just always try to play as many girls as possible each day."

The teams returns several varsity members from last year's team, including senior Alexandra Brown, who advanced to the State Tournament, Brianna Burcham, Caroline Shetley and Mallory Lancaster.

Hilburn will also to a couple of her JV players from last year to step up and play a big role with the varsity squad in Anna Kay Hilburn and Anna Stillman.

With the first match 14 days away, Hilburn says that she has to get these girls' in their respectful seedings so that she can be able to put out the best lineup when the team takes on Charleston in the season opener.

"When you have the number of girls' like I do, it will take several days to get them in their spots on the roster, so I have to not only train them, but get them playing matches against each other so that I can put out the best lineup," said Hilburn about getting ready for the first match.

Conditioning is vital to the game of tennis and Hilburn is a firm believer in getting her team in the best shape possible. "I will be putting a lot of emphasis in to conditioning these first couple of weeks, said Hilburn. "I the type of coach that believes in having a team in great physical condition. If we're not conditioned well, then we'll not play well late into the season because we'll be getting tired too easily. So, our team will be focusing on conditioning because we want to be the team that can last through long matches and not be getting tired."

"Not only will this team look to capture a district title, we'll also look to have a winning season," said Hilburn about a goal that her team has for the upcoming season. "I've got a lot of girls out here that are ready to work hard and I feel that they are ready to start playing and become a successful team."

The KHS Girls' tennis team will open their 2010 campaign at home on August 24 as they take on Charleston. The first matches will start at 4 p.m.