This fall, the Sheridan High School Broncs finished up yet another season of tennis. This year, the girls placed fourth at State and the boys finished ninth.

   The team practiced together at the courts on campus after school and prepared for their meets. Junior Madison Garneau said that she “loves the competitive aspect of [tennis] and the mental toughness required.”

  Tennis is a game that demands focus and determination. Garneau said, “Tennis, overall, is a huge mental game; you have to constantly think positively and move on after a bad play or point.” This season, both the Broncs and the Lady Broncs continued to think positively and ended up doing their best at State.

  As with any sport, tennis is a learning experience. No tennis match is ever perfect and something can always be improved upon. Garneau explained how a person must learn from their mistakes whether they win or lose and that they can always improve from any match. Because the nature of tennis is very competitive, a team must be united to succeed. A disunified team cannot work together to score or win as well as other teams can. The SHS tennis team knows that they must stay together if they want to succeed. “Overall, the team has become close and tightly-knit,” said Garneau. “We are all good friends and we work together. We congratulate each other on well-deserved wins and points and we help each other get better.”

  Junior Kellen Mentock also makes the point that it is imperative to stay together and to understand one another. Mentock says that “To function well, the team needs to have partners who understand each other’s play style and know how to play off of it.”

  This year, many players had to adapt to different positions. Mentock said that “This season, we had a lot of people put into positions they had never been in before, and they have to adapt to new levels of play.”

  This season, the SHS tennis team competed all over the state. They took to the courts in Cheyenne, Gillette, Casper, Torrington, and even in Gering, Neb. The Broncs had three home-meets, and they also held conference on their own courts.

  Overall, the SHS tennis team improved as both a team and as individuals. They really improved towards the end of the season and ended up taking state titles with boys placing ninth and girls placing fourth.