Tennis

What a difference a year makes...

by Jim Pukys, Head Tennis Coach

Back in the 2022 season, the McKinley Boys Tennis team was made up of three returning lettermen, one senior in his first year of playing, and seven freshmen. We were in large part either inexperienced or just did not match up well against our opponents. We finished the year 4-14. Many of our matches were lopsided defeats, however, the team was always upbeat and I felt that if they stayed positive and continued to work at their game the 2023 team could be very special.

Fast forward one season later...

With a much improved returning seven lettermen along with a freshman with the skill set and experience of one of the top players in the county, we were ready to make a significant improvement from last year.

We finished the 2023 season with a 14-6 record. We finished with an undefeated season in the NET Conference and capped the year off as the NET Conference Tournament Champions.

Record: 14-6

Individual recognitions:

- Elijah Corrin: 1st Team Federal League, 1st Team NET Conference, NET Player of the Year, 1st Team All-County, Sectional Runner-up, District Qualifier (first since 2003)

- Asher Diuk: 1st Team NET Conference, Honorable Mention All-County

- Conner Welden: 1st Team NET Conference

- Stone Patterson & William Cakanic: 1st Team NET Conference

- 12 out of our 15 players were recognized at All-Academic Conference (3.5 GPA or higher).

Sports Wrap-Up