State aspirations motivating Notre Dame tennis

Expectations are high in 2024 for the Notre Dame Bulldogs.

Coming off a 17-7 year that saw the Bulldogs finish fourth in the Class 2 state championships, they are eager to improve on 2023.

“They’re excited,” Bulldogs coach Pershard Owens said. “But, there’s a lot of expectations as well. We have to make sure we’re not banking on the success of last year and focus on moving forward.”

Some coaches might hope to temper expectations of reaching state again, but Owens welcomes it.

“I tell them that state is the goal,” Owens said. “That’s why we do line drills and that’s why we’re in the weight room, for state. I definitely encourage them to be state minded and play like they’re going to state.”

The only member of last year’s team that graduated was Eli Youngblood, otherwise the Bulldogs return the same cast of talent.

“They’re definitely seasoned,” Owens said. “They’ve played with each other for a little bit and so I just try to make sure they stay level-headed and just put work in every single day.”

From his own experience, Owens knows what it will take for his group to once again return to Springfield for the state championships.

“I’ve played with a lot of the coaches and pros in St. Louis so I definitely know what it takes,” Owens said. “But, I’m also not on the court. All I can do is teach them the best I can and tell them what it’s going to take and what they have to do to get there and then at the end of the day we just hope we’re there.”

The Bulldogs have kicked off the season with a pair of 9-0 wins over Cape Central and Arcadia Valley, but Owens is still searching for more from his group.

“I come from a background of playing for coaches who push us to our limits,” Owens said. “I wasn’t happy with the 9-0 win (over Cape Central) because we won but I felt like we weren’t aggressive. When they’re playing, I want them to dominate. I want them to go at the other player. I don’t want them to take the gas off. That’s my main thing, just making sure they go at whoever they’re playing with no mercy.”

Notre Dame (2-0) is idle until 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 2, when the Bulldogs travel to take on Dexter.

Some other key dates in 2024 for the Bulldogs include the Mid Mo Invitational on April 6, the SEMO Conference Tournament on April 12 and the regular season finale at 4 p.m. on May 1, against North County.