Expectations remain high for Westwood tennis team

Team tennis trophies fill the cases at Westwood High School, and expectations for any season always include a trip to the state tournament.

But it's still one day at a time for Westwood high school tennis coach Travis Dalrymple and his squad, especially in a time when the coronavirus looms as a constant threat.

"It has been a long time since we have all been together," said Dalrymple with a laugh, noting that the Warriors officially start tryouts on Sept. 10.

Last season, Westwood went 17-2 with both losses coming 10-9 against No. 2 Plano West and No. 3 Amarillo. The loss to Plano West in the Class 6A Region II semifinals came after Westwood held a 9-7 lead.

"Our match with Plano West was fierce, and it could have gone either way," Dalrymple said. "They got us on a couple of late breaks and beat us; it was too bad that they did not win state."

Plano West, which suffered some injuries in the matchup against Westwood, fell to Houston Memorial in the state-title duel.

In a good sign for the program, the Warriors beat Westlake 10-3 and Lake Travis 14-5 last season. Westwood moves from Region II to Region IV for the next two school years, and Westlake and Lake Travis dueled for the Region IV crown a year ago.

With four boys that Dalrymple says "could be No. 1 for just about any team in the state" back as well as two of the top girls from last year, the coach says he expects a strong playoff run.

"We are really excited about the upcoming season," he said.

Dalrymple didn't go into detail about which players he expects to step up, saying "until tryouts, we can't go a lot into the individuals because it would be unfair.

"But the players earn their positions on the court and they work hard, play hard and study hard. It is an awesome group."

Westwood was hot heading into the spring tennis season in March before the coronavirus outbreak closed schools.

"We talked, the kids practiced, keeping social distance, which is pretty easy on the courts," Dalrymple said. "We had calls and Zoom, but it was always about being prepared to go."

Earlier this year, Dalrymple cited some of the differences of his sport to others.

"Tennis is a true year-round sport," Dalrymple said, referring to the team tennis season in the fall and individual competition in the spring. "Team members then play in club and make up their own tournaments in the summer; they never really stop." 

Tennis is one of the few sports where practice time has not been impacted as greatly as other sports by the pandemic, Dalrymple said.

"Playing singles tennis is certainly maintaining social distance," he said. "The kids are able to play by arriving at the courts and staying apart. The actual play is a good outlet and keeps them in shape."

The Warriors have been permitted to participate in skills development an hour a day and weight training and conditioning another hour, but the upcoming team tryouts will be the first time this year's team will take the courts together.

While Westwood has had more than its share of success on the courts, academics always brings a special pride to Dalrymple. Westwood is consistently ranked as one of the top academic public schools in the state, and Dalrymple is quick to point out that 28 of his 30 players earned academic all-district honors a year ago.

"And the other two are really, really close," said Dalrymple. "The students play hard at practice and in matches, but they really have a pride in their classroom success as well. They understand that an education is key to your future."