A reboot of Sequim’s girls tennis program continues this season, with another surge of underclassmen looking to fill the varsity roster.

“We have a lot of youth; we’re heavy in freshmen and sophomores,” SHS coach Mark Textor said.

Six of the 16 players on the 20223 squad are freshmen, he noted, and many of them have spent some time on the courts so they aren’t starting completely from scratch.

“That’s encouraging for the future,” Textor said. “They are super nice and super coachable — a great combination.”

The Wolves finished over .500 last season with a similarly young squad, but this year’s team lost three of its four district tourney qualifiers (doubles duo Jordan Hegtvedt and Malory Morey, and singles player Allie Gale) to graduation.

The returning player, and team’s lone senior, however, is a force to be reckoned with. Kendall Hastings placed second in the Olympic League tourney, second at districts and eight at the 2A state tourney as a junior, and was a league doubles champ as a sophomore in 2021.

“The bigger the match, the better she plays,” Textor said.

The Sequim coach said Hastings may miss some early matches because of other commitments: an all-league volleyball star as well, she missed some early practices to look at colleges.

“When it comes for league and districts, she’ll be ready,” Textor said. “She works very hard.”

Other returning players include juniors Sydney Hegtvedt and Dani Herman, and sophomores Kimberly Heintz, Keira Morey and Payton Smithson.

As for the team’s outlook, he said the Wolves will have a good chance to be around .500 again or better.

“We’re not ready to compete and beat North Kitsap or Bainbridge,” he said, “but we can compete with the rest of the league.”

Sequim was scheduled to open the 2023 season at home against Bainbridge on March 13.

The Wolves were at Bremerton on March 15 and hosted North Kitsap on March 16. Results were not available by press time. They host Kingston on March 23.

Spring sports preview: Girls tennis

Head coach: Mark Textor (15th season)

2022 record: 2 singles, 1 doubles team to districts; 1 singles player to state

Returners: Kendall Hastings (sr.), Sydney Hegtvedt (jr.), Dani Herman (jr.), Kimberly Heintz (so.), Keira Morey (so.), Payton Smithson (so.)

Newcomers: Amara Gonzalez (so.), Taylor Heyting (so.), Kendall Day (so.), Kristine Prorok (fr.), Calleigh Thompson (fr.), Tiffany Lam (fr.), Sydney Thomas-Harris (fr.), Emma Gilliam (fr.), Azlynn Judd (fr.), Ariana Salas (fr.)