ROCHELLE — Fourteen seniors departed from the Rochelle Hub varsity tennis team after the 2023 season, where the netters went 12-6 overall and 1-4 in the Interstate 8 Conference under head coach Kristy Eckardt. With a largely new group out for the team this spring, Eckardt will look for her few returning players to emerge in leadership roles during the 2024 season.

“We have a young group this year, but a big group,” Eckardt said. “You never know, after losing 14 seniors, how many new kids will come out, but we have a lot of new kids to help fill those open spots. I think our goal this year will be to continue to improve and compete in every match we play, and especially for our returning varsity players, for them to have a lot of success again.”

Rochelle will serve up the 2024 season with the Rock Island Invitational on Saturday, March 23. The Hubs are scheduled to host their first home match of the season against Streator on Thursday, April 4 before holding the annual Rochelle Doubles Invitational on Saturday, April 6. 

Among Rochelle’s returning varsity players are seniors Jimmy Chavez and Parker Lenkaitis, who each played singles last season. Lenkaitis has also played doubles in his career at RTHS.

“I think our team chemistry last year was the best I've seen since I've coached here, and I'd like to see that continue, and in our first two days of practice, it seems to be picking up where it left off last season,” Eckardt said. “Also, our goals are to  just strive to improve every day, especially the new guys, and to get to a point where we're confident that we can win any match.”

Sophomore Mark Green also returns after earning a varsity doubles role as a freshman last season. Notable netters who could make the move from JV to varsity include senior Alex McBride as well as sophomores Philip Winters and Caleb Mortensen. Eckardt said there are also several newcomers to the program who could immediately step into varsity roles.

Rochelle lost two state qualifiers from last season in David Wanner and Owen Haas. The Hubs also lost seniors John Green, Nolan Fonfara and Paul Swartz from the varsity roster. Rochelle’s first Interstate 8 match of the 2024 season will be at home against Morris on Tuesday, April 9.

“Jimmy and Parker are our two returning varsity seniors, so I'll be looking forward to them stepping up and filling the leadership roles for us this year,” Eckardt said. “Mark is also back and we'll be looking for contributions from some of last year's JV kids like Philip, Caleb and Alex. There are also several new additions this year that could crack into the top eight.”