The Plano tennis team played Denton Guyer HS for third place on Thursday, Oct. 12 in the District 6-6A team tennis Tournament and achieved a close victory of 10-7.

     “We knew our match against Denton Guyer would be a tough one,” coach Cliff Lazarine said.

    The tennis team worked rigorously throughout the season. Before every game, even a game like the district finals, practices are the same. The tennis team wants to cut out errors that were unforced and to take more high percentage shots.

     “We hope to improve going forward by continuing to emphasize playing good, smart tennis,” Lazarine said. “We want to keep working towards reducing the number of unforced errors and playing high percentage tennis.”

     During the practice leading up to a match, they worked on their doubles play with emphasis on getting a copious amount of first serves.

      “I am very proud of how we carried ourselves from match to match,” junior Andrew McDonald said.

     The coaches emphasized the positives and addressed the areas that needed improvement. The coaches highlighted to the team the importance of minimizing unforced errors.

     “I hope to stay more focused moving forward during my matches,”  junior Mikaela North said. “I am proud of my team’s work ethic.”

     Throughout the season, each player hopes to stay more focused before, during and after each match.

     After a tough season and district finals, the team was able to evaluate where they were and how they would improve. They improved most on court movement and shot selection as a team. Lazarine encourages his players to use strategies that allow them to be successful in certain matches.

    “All of our players have improved since we began in August,” Lazarine said. “It would be hard to name just one or two players who have played well,”

     Each player from match to match plays resurgent matches that enable them to be successful as a team. Lazarine believes that no player lacked effort or desire to win.

    “If we lose a match we want it to be because we were just outplayed, not that we beat ourselves,” Lazarine said.