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Marshalltown head boys’ tennis coach Josh Wilkinson returns roughly half of last year’s varsity lineup from a 2-7 team, hoping the experience gained will soon translate into success on the court.

The Bobcats open the season today with a trip to Des Moines for a non-conference dual with Saydel.

“I’m anxious to get started,” Wilkinson said at the outset of his second season at MHS. “I’m optimistic we can improve upon that mark from last year.”

Marshalltown’s core returners include Travis Halm and Chase Ruddock, who played No. 5 and 6 singles and anywhere from No. 2 to 4 doubles last spring. Ruddock was 4-3 in regular season varsity singles matches as the team’s top returner record-wise.

Wilkinson said Halm has put the time in during the offseason and should step forward from last year’s 1-6 singles campaign.

“I’m really looking to these guys to be the leaders,” Wilkinson said. “They’ve been through it, they know what to expect.”

Dustin Etter and Griffin Garland were a regular doubles pair at the bottom of the Bobcat lineup, returning a 7-4 record from the No. 5 spot.

Andrew Woltjer, Travis Huey and Robert Dalluge all return from a spot in last year’s varsity lineup, and that won’t change as the season begins today. Foreign exchange student Ivo Raunic will have a varsity spot as well, Wilkinson said.

“We’ve got about five kids that have seen quite a good amount of time on the varsity, and it’s always good to have seniors fill out varsity spots,” Wilkinson said. “They know what to expect.”

Ruddock, Etter and Raunic will likely line up as the top three varsity singles players today with Halm still recovering from an appendectomy. The team will also miss John Ryan for the season after the junior suffered a broken arm during a recent skiing accident.

Neil LeWarne, Mike Carter and Derek Dalluge will contribute as doubles players this season too, Wilkinson said.

“It’s always my goal to be competitive, to give as much of a competitive effort each time we go out there,” Wilkinson added.

The Bobcats, who went 0-3 in CIML Iowa Conference meets last season, will again see a challenging schedule. Ames and Valley, Wilkinson said, are the frontrunners in the league to start the spring.

“Ames had a down year and they still qualified singles and doubles for state,” he said. “They’re loaded, they’re really not losing much from last year. And Valley’s lineup is strong throughout.”

Marshalltown’s home opener is Tuesday against Indianola, who accounted for one of the Bobcats’ two dual wins last season. The Bobcat Invitational is April 12 with Ames, Fort Dodge, Mason City, Newton and Southeast Polk coming to the MHS Tennis Courts.

 

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