Frosh lead the way for MCC tennis team
Kevin Bonneville
Each new sports season brings new excitement and expectations and it’s no different with this years men’s tennis team.The season started off with a bit of a curveball as former head coach Rebecca Opoien stepped down.
The reigns are now being taken over by Adam Cohen, who was previously an assistant coach and an ex-MCC player a few years back.
Opoien had a very successful coaching career at MCC.
She won conference and regional championships in 2002, 2003, and 2004, including three finishes in the top 15 national rankings during those years.
That’s now a thing of the past with Cohen at the helm.
“We are a relatively young team with a lot of talent and it’s fitting that our coach is the same,” freshmen Kevon O’Rear said.
The Thunderbirds started off the year taking 3rd place at the MCCCD Jamboree, which took place on Feb. 1.
The event was held at the Phoenix Tennis Center.
The men’s squad then opened up their regular season with a match against Glendale C.C. Mesa would come up just short, losing the match 6-3.
Glendale ended up winning five of the six singles matches, which all ended in straight sets.
Freshmen Zachary Galas got the lone victory for the T-Birds, winning his match 6-1, 6-3.
However, the team did bounce back to win two of their three doubles matches to make things look respectable against a tough Glendale squad.
Even though the season didn’t start out like they wanted to, there’s still plenty of the season left to be played.
“We just want to make some noise, anything less will be disappointing. Get your popcorn ready,” O’Rear said.
Mesa’s next match is on Feb. 26 against Gateway C.C., who has recently had pretty strong squads.
The match will be at 1:30 p.m. and it will be held at the tennis courts here at MCC.
Mesa will then hit the road for two matches against Glendale C.C. and Scottsdale C.C.
