Co-Lin's Tennis teams eyeing national tournament

Special to Wesson News

In the 2024-25 season under Coach Tripp Case, both the Co-Lin men’s and women’s tennis  team earned a national tournament appearances, but fell in the Region 23 Tournament Quarterfinals.  Although the strength of the top doubles pairing in the Mississippi Association Community of Colleges Conference (MACCC) got the men there, they dropped a close match against Northeast and the women lost to Meridian to end their seasons.

In the men, Case has returning group of sophomores and the women will be depending on freshmen. The men, he says, “are super competitive, and they have worked hard to close the gap, chase each other, and up the level of our play this season" and the women will gain experience “especially in the beginning of the season with some tough matches” that “will pay off big for us in the later part of our season."

The men’s roster features eight players split evenly between sophomores and freshmen. The four sophomores are Jake Bucek (Geelong, Australia), Nikoloz Gurgenidze (Tbilisi, Georgia), Mason Brand (Mantee), and Jax Leggett (Bogue Chitto).

"Jake Bucek was a player that at one point was Top 10 in the nation at doubles and is close to breaking the Top 30 in singles and he has made a lot of improvement to his already impressive game. I'm excited to see how much he will grow this season," says Case. "Jax Leggett is a player that came in clutch for us last season and stepped up to the plate when we lost Nikoloz Gurgenidze to an injury and he did not disappoint. I'm excited to see how those two along with Niko and Mason Brand continue to grow and take things to the next level for us."

The four freshmen for the Wolves are Lane Breland (Perkinston), Warren Lucio (Tupelo), James Rooks (Jackson), and Nick Tozer (Belrose, Australia).

"James Rooks is a player that I think will have a high spot in our lineup this season. He's done a great job of getting used to the pace of college tennis and his experience in tournaments has been invaluable for his success. He plays with great technique, and I have high hopes for him," says Case. "Lane Breland is a player that developed a lot of chemistry with Jax Leggett in doubles over the fall and we saw them have success in the ITA Regional Tournament. I like what I'm seeing from him in the doubles games. Nick Tozer and Warren Lucio have also been showing a lot of growth, and we like what we have seen from them especially Nick who just came here at the start of the spring semester."

The Lady Wolves roster features nine players with two returning sophomores and seven incoming freshmen. The two returners are Georgina Labusch (Verl, Germany) and Allie Grace McNeil (Brookhaven) and Case said their experience will be valuable for this season.

The seven freshmen include Clara Barton Calcote (Wesson), Domenica Gruezo (Quito, Ecuador), Ruri Takeuchi (Chiba, Japan), Allie Neal (Mathiston), and Ady Locke, Macy McDaniel, and Ella Thompson all of Brookhaven.

"I think that this group makes our team stronger as a whole especially in key spots," says Case. "Ruri had a great fall, and I think she has a chance to be one of the best players in our conference. I look forward to seeing how good she can be for us. Domenica is gritty and laser focused on the court and I think that will benefit her in some of the hard matches throughout the season."

"Ady Locke is another player that is very gritty and had a great fall that I think has helped her build her confidence," adds Case. "Clara Barton Calcote, Ella Thompson, Allie Neal, and Macy McDaniel all showed some impressive growth throughout the fall too and I'm excited to see how that helps them in this season."

Case is excited about the potential of both men’s and women’s doubles pairings

"Jake and Niko have been playing really well together since the fall, and they had a lot of success especially at ITA while Nick figures to be in one of those pairings too.” he points out.  “Nick has one of the cleanest one-handed backhands I've ever seen, and he reminds me a lot of Arne Sohmer when he was here. There's still a battle for a lot of those spots because Warren Lucio is a player that's in his first year competing, but he has really upped his level throughout the fall and training for the spring."

            The good news for the women is that they have a lot of pairings that are working, but the bad news is that they have to make some tough decisions on those pairings soon,  Case says: "Ruri and Georgina both played well together this fall and made it to the semifinals of the ITA Regional Tournament, but Domenica has played well with both of them since she got here after the winter break while Ady Locke has placed herself in at one of the doubles pairings too. The decision will really come down to chemistry in the end and what pairings give us the best chance to win."

Case says the men “have a very good chance” at competing for top spots in the conference and national tournament.  He says success for the women comes down to a few simple things:  "I think it will take a solid group effort because we believe that we have the talent to finish in the top three of the conference and being able to perform when we have to.  I believe that this group will step up and be ready for the pressure and get us back to the national tournament this season."