CENTRAL, CHARLESTON NETTERS TRY TO BUILD ON LAST YEAR'S SUCCESS

Cape Girardeau Central and Charleston, coming off district championships last year, will once again be expecting good things during the 1997 high school girls tennis season.

Jackson, which also had a successful 1996 campaign, will be looking to knock off the area's two top teams while Chaffee will continue to strive for improvement as it must face the area's large-school powers.

Following is a preview of how those four local squads stack up as the girls tennis season kicks off for some teams today and others next week.

Cape Central

The Lady Tigers, who play their first match Sept. 2 at Poplar Bluff, are coming off another exceptional season that saw them go 12-0 in dual matches and win the Class 4A district title.

While coach Annette Slattery lost her top two players off that squad, she does return four varsity regulars who should help the Tigers have another strong season.

"I think we're going to be pretty decent," said Slattery. "But I'm not going to predict an undefeated season again because that's so hard to do."

Varsity regulars returning for the Lady Tigers are senior Summer Chaudhari, junior Lara Golike, junior Rachelle Thomas and sophomore Elizabeth Russell.

"So far they're all looking good," Slattery said.

Slattery has also been impressed by foreign exchange student Lisa Ahstrom from Sweden.

Several other players are also battling for spots in what figures to be a balanced lineup.

"We've got a lot of other girls who are really close right now," said Slattery. "We've got a pretty deep team this year."

Added the coach, "We're looking forward to the season. We should face some pretty stiff competition, from the usual powerhouses like Charleston and Jackson, and Dexter also looks to be pretty good. They haven't done much in the past, but their girls have really improved."

Jackson

The Lady Indians lost only two players from the bottom part of their lineup off last year's 7-4 team that lost twice to both Cape Central and Charleston.

Four seniors return off last season's varsity: Lynn Casteel, Sarah Culbertson, Lauren Young and Beth Lefebvre.

They'll be backed up by Lena Steinberg, a foreign exchange student from Germany, while junior Emily O'Loughlin and sophomore Amy Lefebvre are also fighting for varsity spots.

"I feel like we'll be pretty strong as a team," said coach Linda Adams. "Everybody is really working together. They give each other a lot of support."

Jackson opens the season today at Chaffee.

"Cape Central should be the (area) team to beat and Charleston will have something to say about it as well," said Adams who, like Slattery, mentions Dexter as an up-and-coming Southeast Missouri squad. "Dexter has really improved and will be a strong team."

Chaffee

The Lady Red Devils went just 3-10 in '96, but they are generally faced with playing much larger schools.

Still, coach Amanda Horrell likes the way her squad is taking shape heading into today's opener at home vs. Jackson.

Chaffee returns five players who saw varsity action last year: seniors Amanda Ford, Jill Graham and Adria Meyr; and juniors Betsy Rice and Jenine Sadler.

Three sophomores and two freshman are also fighting for spots in the lineup.

"We've had some really good practices," said Horrell. "Even though we're down in numbers, it seems like all the girls have improved."

Charleston

Coach Mitch Baker's Blue Jays went 14-2 last season -- both losses were to Cape Central -- and won the Class 1A-3A district title before finishing second in sectionals to fall just short of a state berth.

The Blue Jays, who play their first match Sept. 3 at home against Jackson, will be led by two returning state qualifiers, including senior Sayler Ault. She was fourth in the state meet last season.

Junior Jenny O'Rourke finished second in the district tourney behind Ault and also made it to state.

Charleston, which graduated a state-qualifying doubles team, returns one other varsity regular, senior Mary Margaret Story.

Other players Baker will be counting on are seniors Laura Jane Whitehead and Julie McDowell; junior Whitney DeLay; and sophomores Katie Whitehead and Elizabeth Rowe.

"We've got a mix of some experienced players and some new girls," said Baker. "Our JV has done well the last few years so those players will help us out. I think we'll be pretty competitive."