Liberty County tennis ended its season last month with much more experience than it began.
Coach Sandra Eichholz began the season with only three girls and one boy with any match experience. The last match of the season was against a talented Pierce County team. The Panthers lost 0-5 and 0-5.

“We began the year with a completely inexperienced team and we improved with each match,” the coach said. “Many of our players just started playing as freshmen at LCHS. The teams we competed against this year had players that began playing USTA tournaments in elementary school. To compete in this region, kids really need to start early and compete year round.”

Liberty’s competition in the region are Brantly, Appling and Pierce counties.
Junior Kaitlyn Moncada and freshman Christine Bernades will return next year and will bring experience and leadership to the varsity team. Both play local and USTA tournaments throughout the year.

Eichholz said the Panthers look forward to next year as younger team members have committed to playing year round and working to improve both physically and technically.
The coach said the key to building a solid tennis team is for students to begin playing in middle school and starting a feeder systems into high school.

“Match play is very important,” she said.