ETV News stock photo by Jeff Barrett
Part of the reconstruction at Emery High includes beautiful new tennis courts that sit right on Center Street in Castle Dale. The team is certainly looking forward to its upcoming season and breaking in the new courts, though the team itself remains in a building phase.
“Our team is still fairly young. We have a lot of juniors and sophomores, they’re progressing really well,” head coach Ethan Migliori said. “We will see how they develop as the season goes on.”
Along with the youth, the Lady Spartans only bring back four players with varsity experience. There is bound to be some growing pains throughout the year, but Migliori is encouraged by the team’s progress. He emphasized the importance of continuing to teach the younger players the fundamentals and nuances of the game.
“We’ll have some pretty good doubles this year. Some of the top returners are a doubles team that made it to state last year.” Migliori continued, “A couple others were younger [last year] and lacked knowledge of the game. Doubles will have a fantastic year.”
On the singles side, there will be a lot of opportunities for girls to step up and claim a spot. With that said, Emery expects be competitive in a tough region. Carbon and South Sevier both bring back solid returners while Grand is always a problem. Richfield usually has a big team, but it is unknown if the quality of athletes will match the quantity. Either way, Migliori believes the Spartans “will hold their own in region.”
The program has been greatly aided by assistant coach Travis Olsen, who has taken on an even larger role this year. “He’s become a real asset, he’s doing fantastic,” added Migliori. With 18 athletes on the roster, Migliori is grateful for the additional help and the time it allows him to better teach his players.
“Overall, we’ll see a lot of amazing play from our younger girls, which is good because we will retain them into next year,” concluded Migliori. “We’ll have some good success this year, but the next couple years is when we will see the team blossom.”