WEBSTER CITY GIRLS TENNIS returning letterwinners are, front row (left to right): Karina Murray, Cyra Christensen, Kinzey Koestner and Allie Severe. (DFJ photo by David Borer)

Head coach Mark Fisher is excited to see where his current group of athletes will take the Webster City girls tennis program in the weeks – and years – to come.

A number of underclassmen will flank the two seniors and three juniors on the Lynx roster, which is led by up-and-coming sophomore Allie Severe.

“I would expect Allie to possibly move up to the No. 1 spot,” Fisher said. “She’s someone who has been a part of the program and taken lessons with me since she was very young.

“She’s had a lot to do with our recruiting of new players this year, as we have a bunch (in the mix). I’m really excited for what the next three years holds for Allie.”

Severe is joined by senior Kinzey Koestner and juniors Karina Murray and Cyra Christensen as returning players. Severe was in the third varsity singles position for Webster City last spring, in a lineup that included graduated seniors Joslin Gourley, Trinity Griffith and Isabelle Feldhaus.

Koestner is a three-time letterwinner who was on the North Central Conference championship squad as a freshman and sophomore. Christensen “showed a lot of potential last year,” Fisher added, including scoring a regional win against Boone.

“Cyra’s a very smart player and hard worker,” Fisher said. She’s someone we expect to see in the top half of our lineup.

“Kinzey will be out the first part of the season, but we expect her back later in April. She’ll be a veteran boost to what is, overall, a young team.”

There are nine sophomores and seven freshmen on the 2024 Lynx roster.

“We’re really excited and think we have a solid core of girls that have potential. It could be the start of another great run (of Webster City tennis),” Fisher said. “This year could be a bit of a learning curve, but I’m excited to see how they build up and what the future holds.”

Juniors Perla Torres and Karina Murray are expected to be in the mix right out of the chute. Newcomers Alivia Burns and Hailey Brim – both sophomores — “give us a little extra athleticism,” Fisher said.

“Perla and Karina have worked so hard and come so far,” Fisher said. “I think this could be the season that we see consistent varsity opportunities for them.”

Freshmen Gabrielle Sebert and Olivia Bergman are prospects who may earn immediate court time.

“I know we lack a little bit of experience, but I honestly think our strength will be in depth and numbers,” Fisher said. “We have a group that is passionate and energized for their time in the spotlight. We are young overall, so it’s just a matter of getting time on the court, matches under our belt, and developing from there. This group will be fun to watch grow.

“We have aspirations of winning another NCC title (like in 2021 and ’22). The goals are always the same. We want to take as many medals at the NCC tournament as we can, and see if we can qualify the team or any individuals for state.”

2024 WEBSTER CITY GIRLS TENNIS

Roster

Seniors – McKinzey Koestner, Koda Koster.

Juniors – Cyra Christensen, Karina Murray, Perla Torres.

Sophomores – Allie Severe, Hailey Brim, Alivia Burns, Emily Carrasco, Maja Gordon, Alivia Hector, Isabelle McNiel, Sylvia Otteros, Evy Streigle.

Freshmen – Olivia Bergman, Delaney Lyons, Miley Mason, Makenah Parker, Gabrielle Sebert, Natalie Segar, Ashlee Tinoco.

Schedule

March 26 – St. Edmond; 28 – South Hardin.

April 1 – North Polk; 2 – at Clear Lake; 9 – Iowa Falls-Alden; 12 – Dike-New Hartford; 15 – at Boone; 16 – at Hampton-Dumont/CAL; 18 – Saydel; 23 – at Nevada; 25 – at Ballard.

May 1 – North Central Conference meet in Fort Dodge.