Change isn’t a new thing for the Davie High Men’s Tennis Team. This was certainly the case this season, with half of the team’s Singles starting lineup being underclassmen. The success of any team often falls on its ability to adapt to create the best lineup of athletes. The team did just that, adapting from a mid-season match score of 2-5 to, by the end of the season, a non-conference match score of 8-8 and a conference score of 6-6.
With this breakthrough, the team competed in the first round of the Dual-Team state playoffs. A look through the fence shows a season of change and the cultivation of a team atmosphere worth playing for.
A change was seen in this year’s doubles teams as they made considerable progress throughout the season in solidifying their lineup. Brady Carter and Riley Mallory went undefeated in first doubles, winning two matches, while Grayson Busse and Chris Samet landed an impressive 5-2 record in second doubles. Both doubles teams made it to the CPC Conference Tournament, advancing to Regionals with an opportunity to represent Davie.
Winning over 60% of their games, Davie’s three Doubles teams often scored three game wins for the team, requiring only two Singles game victories to win the match. And one of those Singles victories was guaranteed at every match. Undefeated Freshman Luke Cranfill played for Singles 4 and won every game he played.
Cranfill attributed his success to his staying in the moment. “The mental [aspect] is very important. I try not to show whether I’m happy or sad; I just keep a blank expression on my face.”
Cranfill’s strategy reflects a broader maturity throughout the team. Heading into the season, expectations were modest yet exciting. With no seniors graduating the year before, Coach Shane Nixon and the team knew this year would be one of constant growth and improvement. As the season went on, that narrative gradually came into fruition, contrasting with a rockier season the year prior. Coach Nixon shares that while this year didn’t start off strong, the team is “getting better every time.”
“We started two freshmen and a sophomore [this year], and arguably our third or fourth best striker of the ball is a freshman, so we’re in pretty good shape,” Nixon said. “I see us going to big places.”
The amount of underclassmen holding their own in high-pressure matches foreshadows a future core that could compete at the top of the conference. This year, the team placed 4th in the conference. Assistant Coach Terri Eanes says that the record, “could get a lot better than what it shows.”
“[The team] really responded to the drills and things that we’ve done, and we’ve had a lot of improvement. A lot of our matches have been 6-3s and 5-4s, so a lot of splits,” Eanes says.
This year’s growth is no doubt linked to the cultivation of an immensely beneficial team environment built on mutual support and strength, one that is “energetic and funny,” according to senior Zach Hill. That team environment has the capacity to close some of the narrow, high-pressure splits that result in a slightly weakened record for the team.
“The beginning of the season felt high pressure, but as time went on, it became more of ‘we’re a team,’” shares freshman Chris Samet. “I’d like to tell past-me that although [the team] is a new place with new people, they’re all amazing and I should drop my nerves.”
But not every match ended with a narrow loss—or a loss at all. “It was nice beating Tabor both the times that we played them this year,” says senior Barrett Taylor.
“The joy of high school tennis is you don’t have to win to win, because the team wins, and you’re part of that team. The team has also been a safe haven for me in a way,” says senior Grayson Busse.
Win or lose, the team has created an environment where the athletes can thrive to be “better off the court than on, something that these three seniors exemplify,” Nixon says.
Through the fence, this season has been one of strategic, personal, and team growth. It’s been a season of wins, a season of losses, and a season with an attitude to get better with each point, game, and match. The Davie High Men’s Tennis team has taken the chance to change for the better in and out of the fence.
