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Apr. 18—GRAND FORKS — Tom Wynne spent 35 years coaching college tennis at UND.
He retired from UND in 2021.
Wynne admits he was apprehensive about taking the Grand Forks Central High School coaching job when he was approached.
Now that he's a couple of weeks in, he's happy he did it.
"I'm really enjoying it," Wynne said. "The players are a lot of fun to work with. I'm really glad I decided to do it.
"The college thing was great fun, but boy was it getting frustrating when, every year, you'd lose players (to the transfer portal). We lost our No. 1 player three years in a row. It was getting old after a while and that's the way it's going to be. You get someone and you think, 'Good, we're going to be set for four years.' Nope. You have to start all over again. That was driving me nuts."
That's not the case in high school.
"The kids are enthusiastic," Wynne said. "Everything you tell them is a pearl of wisdom. It's been fun."
Central has a change at the top of its lineup with the graduation of Madi Stauss.
Alli Wilhelmi is the new No. 1 singles player for the Knights. Wilhelmi was a state doubles qualifier last season.
"If you have a good forehand and backhand, you can be a nightmare to play against in high school tennis," Wynne said. "She's a good mover. There are a lot of pluses. She has a great attitude. I've watched her play a few tournaments and the only kids who beat her are the ones who really have their game down pretty good."
Junior Stella Blue also qualified for state in doubles last season.
The Red River girls, who finished sixth at state as a team last season, have Addy Lommen at the top of their lineup.
Lommen qualified for state doubles last season.
"She's going to be facing everybody's best player," Red River coach Greg LaDouceur said. "She just battles hard. That's how she gets her wins. She doesn't ever give up."
The Roughriders have been using far more players than most teams.
They've already had four players make their varsity debuts this season. Red River used 11 players in its 9-0 win over West Fargo this week.
"We're a very athletic team," LaDouceur said. "We're pretty much the same players all the way up and down the lineup. We compete well in all of our positions. We're going to have a dogfight to stay in our lineup and crack our lineup. Our lineup could be moving around quite a bit with challenge matches because they're all very similar players."
Coach: Greg LaDouceur.
2024 record: 8-8, state sixth place.
Key returners: Sr. Addy Lommen (state doubles qualifier), sr. Maddy Nelson, sr. Naomi Rahman, fr. Ruby Schneider, fr. Kalli Block, soph. Lauren Endres, soph. Elizabeth Kilgore.
Key newcomers: Seventh-grader Irene Tang, soph. Katelyn Hur, sr. Karter Krefting, sr. Brielle Larson.
Coach LaDouceur says: "It's a very competitive group of kids. We don't drop off much. We have 45 kids out. We still have more players coming out, which I love."
Coach: Tom Wynne.
2024 record: 5-7.
Key returners: Jr. Alli Wilhelmi (state doubles qualifier), jr. Hawi Lemma, jr. Stella Blue (state doubles qualifier), soph. Peyton Ault, soph. Lea Johnson.
Key newcomers: Jr. Julia Midori, fr. Haley Johnson.
Coach Wynne says: "Our goal is to try to get a team that can go to state. The goal is to win, but our purpose is to have fun and improve. If we do that, then things will take care of themselves after that."
Continue reading...
He retired from UND in 2021.
Wynne admits he was apprehensive about taking the Grand Forks Central High School coaching job when he was approached.
Now that he's a couple of weeks in, he's happy he did it.
"I'm really enjoying it," Wynne said. "The players are a lot of fun to work with. I'm really glad I decided to do it.
"The college thing was great fun, but boy was it getting frustrating when, every year, you'd lose players (to the transfer portal). We lost our No. 1 player three years in a row. It was getting old after a while and that's the way it's going to be. You get someone and you think, 'Good, we're going to be set for four years.' Nope. You have to start all over again. That was driving me nuts."
That's not the case in high school.
"The kids are enthusiastic," Wynne said. "Everything you tell them is a pearl of wisdom. It's been fun."
Central has a change at the top of its lineup with the graduation of Madi Stauss.
Alli Wilhelmi is the new No. 1 singles player for the Knights. Wilhelmi was a state doubles qualifier last season.
"If you have a good forehand and backhand, you can be a nightmare to play against in high school tennis," Wynne said. "She's a good mover. There are a lot of pluses. She has a great attitude. I've watched her play a few tournaments and the only kids who beat her are the ones who really have their game down pretty good."
Junior Stella Blue also qualified for state in doubles last season.
The Red River girls, who finished sixth at state as a team last season, have Addy Lommen at the top of their lineup.
Lommen qualified for state doubles last season.
"She's going to be facing everybody's best player," Red River coach Greg LaDouceur said. "She just battles hard. That's how she gets her wins. She doesn't ever give up."
The Roughriders have been using far more players than most teams.
They've already had four players make their varsity debuts this season. Red River used 11 players in its 9-0 win over West Fargo this week.
"We're a very athletic team," LaDouceur said. "We're pretty much the same players all the way up and down the lineup. We compete well in all of our positions. We're going to have a dogfight to stay in our lineup and crack our lineup. Our lineup could be moving around quite a bit with challenge matches because they're all very similar players."
Coach: Greg LaDouceur.
2024 record: 8-8, state sixth place.
Key returners: Sr. Addy Lommen (state doubles qualifier), sr. Maddy Nelson, sr. Naomi Rahman, fr. Ruby Schneider, fr. Kalli Block, soph. Lauren Endres, soph. Elizabeth Kilgore.
Key newcomers: Seventh-grader Irene Tang, soph. Katelyn Hur, sr. Karter Krefting, sr. Brielle Larson.
Coach LaDouceur says: "It's a very competitive group of kids. We don't drop off much. We have 45 kids out. We still have more players coming out, which I love."
Coach: Tom Wynne.
2024 record: 5-7.
Key returners: Jr. Alli Wilhelmi (state doubles qualifier), jr. Hawi Lemma, jr. Stella Blue (state doubles qualifier), soph. Peyton Ault, soph. Lea Johnson.
Key newcomers: Jr. Julia Midori, fr. Haley Johnson.
Coach Wynne says: "Our goal is to try to get a team that can go to state. The goal is to win, but our purpose is to have fun and improve. If we do that, then things will take care of themselves after that."
Continue reading...
