Lady Cats' draw strong roster for tennis season
Superior senior Brooke Bibler returns a serve during last season's Western Division tournament in Bigfork. Bibler returns for her senior season on what appears to be a solid Lady Bobcats team for 2023. (Chuck Bandel/MI-VP)
Often lost in the chaos that can be part of sports is a simple thought: have fun! Most refs or umpires don’t yell “work ball” at the beginning of a game, they say “play ball”.
That message appears to be a staple of the Superior High tennis program, which has in recent years produced some really good tennis players who seem to genuinely like playing the game and having fun being on the team.
Head coach Angie Hopwood’s response to this year’s pre-season Mineral Independent/Valley Press questionnaire gives testimony to the ability to win AND have fun.
Take for instance just two of last year’s team post-season awards.
Maddy Drey, a senior with a powerful serve, won the “Lightning Service Award”. And another senior, Brooke Bibler was the recipient of the “Scary Feet Award”, presumably for her quick footwork on the court.
So it’s not surprising that hope springs eternal on this year’s squad, which returns mostly intact from a team that had no seniors on the roster in 2022.
Back for her junior year is standout Lanie Crabb, who was named team MVP at the end of the year, as the Lady Cats did well in the regular season and post-season.
Crabb, who qualified for the state tournament in her freshman year, was hampered by some nagging injuries last year. But the multi-sport standout is back on the court for the 2023 season.
And in addition to Bibler and Drey, two players who won “Promising Potential Award” honors from the 2022 campaign are also back for their junior years.
Add two sophomores and a solid group of freshmen to the mix and Superior tennis is in good shape for this year and several years to come.
“We are hoping to be more aggressive at the net this year,” Hopwood said. “We are working on endurance, footwork and attitude. They ALL have a ‘never say die’ outlook and their ground strokes are golden”.
Hopwood said the team has added freshmen Jenna Mellen, Perri Jasper, Stacy Nobles and Mekenna Greuter to this year’s team, a move that will provide team depth and valuable experience for that group.
Superior, which is the only high school in Mineral or Sanders County with a tennis program, opens it’s season with a trip to Darby April 7 to take on the Lady Tigers. The Lady Bobcats return home the next day, Saturday, April 8, for a three-team match featuring Valley Christian and Granite as well as the host Cats.
The Cats will play a total of four home matches this year in contrast to a single home event during the 2022 season.