The St. Thomas men’s and women’s tennis teams have been practicing for several months, and the players are ready for the season to begin. 

The men’s team ended last season with an overall record of 15-4 (7-2 MIAC). The Tommies will start this season ranked No. 15 in the Central Region rankings, a position that coach Terry Peck is proud of.

“The men’s (team) is ranked in the region, which is really good because it’s a very strong region,” Peck said. “We cracked the top 15 teams, which is pretty good.”

The women’s team finished with an 11-5 record (6-4 MIAC). The Tommies earned the fifth seed in the MIAC playoffs but lost their first match.

Sophomore Rachel Wright has enjoyed practicing with some of the new members of the team.

“I’m looking forward to all the new freshman and recruits,” Wright said. “It’s a good group of girls, and we’ve had a lot of fun so far.”

Peck is also excited about the young talent he has been working with during the winter.

“We have a real solid team coming back and some excellent freshmen,” Peck said.

Peck is coaching the youngest women’s team he has ever had this season, and he said that it may be a challenge.

“We’re going to go through some growing pains,” he said. “But I look forward to them developing into a top team.”

Senior Daniel Cooper said that the players have trained hard and have had some beneficial captain’s practices over the winter.

“It’s going to be a new team,so it’s going to be exciting to see what happens,” Cooper said.

Peck is looking forward to a great season from junior Brian McCarthy, who played in the semifinals of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Tournament last spring.

“Battling (Brian) for the top spot in the lineup will be our No. 1 from last year, Brendan O’Connell,” Peck said.

When asked about the toughest competition the teams will face, the unanimous agreement was that Gustavus and Carleton will be the most difficult opponents.

“Gustavus and Carleton are always our biggest opponents,” junior Kirsten Haukoos said. “Hopefully we’ll have a tough match against them and come out victorious.”

The men’s next home match is against the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse on Feb. 4. The women’s team will participate in the alumni game on Feb. 5.

Baihly Warfield can be reached at warf3860@stthomas.edu.