CSB tennis prepares for home stretch; seeks MIAC playoffs

The CSB tennis team (4-6) is preparing for the final stretch of their season. To close out the regular season, the Bennies will have five conference matches. Currently 2-3 in the MIAC, the Bennies are hoping to make the six-team playoffs this year. 

Junior Ella Marohl said the team is continuing to focus on working hard at practice and matches heading into the second half of the season. 

“With the end of the school year approaching and the weather being nicer, it’s easy to lose focus. We all share a common goal of wanting to make playoffs, and I feel we do a great job of holding ourselves and our teammates accountable,” Marohl said. 

To prepare for the string of upcoming conference matches, the team has been drawing on their experience from their spring break trip in Orlando, Fla. 

“It was great to see some different levels of competition and get more experience early on in the season. Outside of competition, we’re continuing to practice skills and have competitive practices as a team,” Marohl said. 

Marohl’s favorite moment from the season so far has been all the team’s home matches. 

“It’s really special being able to have everyone’s family members here in the St. Joe area and have our friends come and support us. We are really lucky to have such a supportive group of people cheering on our team,” Marohl said. 

Senior Hannah Helms said the team has found a groove and the season is going well. New this season, the doubles matches only count for 1 team point in conference matches. This places more pressure on the singles matches since this is where most of the team points now stem from. 

“It takes some time for new doubles pairings to develop chemistry each season, but each doubles team has gotten in a groove and built strong chemistry. We’ve been consistently winning the doubles point after returning for spring break, which has been helpful to have the upper hand going into singles matches,” Helms said. 

Looking back on the season so far, Helms’ favorite moments have been traveling with the team. 

“Traveling allows us to spend time together off the courts and share meals and laughs together. These girls can make me laugh until I’m in tears,” Helms said. 

Being her senior season, Helms is looking forward to enjoying all the “lasts” and little movements with her teammates. 

“It’s been so fulfilling seeing everyone develop into the players they are now. Each season feels a little different, but this season has felt the most different knowing it’s my last. I feel much more sentimental and appreciative of the little moments on and off the court,” Helms said. 

Junior Marie Labenski has seen a lot of growth within the team especially when faced with tough competition. 

“Everyone has been putting in work at practice and it’s starting to show up in our matches. We have been competing at a high level all season long, and I’m excited to see where that will take us as the season progresses,” Labenski said. 

One of the goals the team had this season was to be focused throughout every single practice and match. Labenski said the team wanted to bring their peak effort and performance into every one of these situations. 

“We are also looking to stay mentally tough and consistent so we can push ourselves to go as far as we can this season,” Labenski said. 

Looking ahead to the remaining conference matches, Labenski said the team is concentrating on the details and small things the team will need to execute to play their best. 

“Conference matches are always more competitive, so we’re focusing on maintaining focus and staying composed under pressure. Our approach to matches going forward is to play the highest level of tennis that we can and bring our competitive edge to every opponent,” Labenski said. 

Head coach Jack Bowe said the team is doing pretty good so far this season. They had a great spring break trip in Florida. 

“We trained hard in Orlando and played some non-conference teams. It was fun to play some good teams and have good weather. Now, we’re continuing to work hard and have some fun,” Bowe said.

The team has been practicing every day and practicing very hard to prepare for the final stretch of the season. 

“We’ve been doing a lot of point play in practices putting them in match situations. Our goal is to make playoffs this year, and we’ve improved a ton since last year,” Bowe said. 

Bowe’s favorite things about this team are their work ethic and the team atmosphere. 

“This is such a great, hard-working group, and they all get along so well,” Bowe said.