Robert Brewer/MDN Minot High’s Hunter Rice was among the Magician tennis players getting in some practice time at Hammond Court on Monday evening.

The Minot High boys tennis team plans to open its 2021 fall season this Friday when they host Williston, Mandan and Bismarck Legacy in the Jamboree Tournament at Hammond Park.

Heading into the new season, the tennis squad is comprised of 41 players from grades 6-12. In addition, 10 of the club’s top 12 performers from a year ago are returning for another year. Meanwhile, MHS has two seniors on the team in Zach Diehl and Colby Opp.

The Minot Daily News reached out to head tennis coach Scott DeLorme to get his thoughts on the upcoming season and what he expects to see from his players in the first meet of the year later this week. Here is what DeLorme had to say via email.

MDN: What are your expectations heading into 2021?

DeLorme: As always, we have high expectations as we begin this season. We think we have a group that can compete with anyone in the state and they put in a lot of time this summer. It’s a mix of youth and experience who seem to work well together and they are all extremely competitive. This is a group that is capable of winning a west region title and competing with anyone at the state tournament.

MDN: Who are some of your key players and what strengths do they bring to the table?

DeLorme: Zach Diehl will be our No. 1 for the third year in a row, so we have to look at him as a big-time leader for us. He is going to go out and compete with the top players on a daily basis and we know he’s good enough to compete with the majority of them.

Our other senior, Colby Opp, has had a fantastic off-season and has improved greatly from a year ago. At No. 6 singles last year, he went undefeated and we think he is a much-improved player. Aidan Diehl will start the season at No. 2. He is only a freshman but has been playing varsity matches since the seventh grade. He doesn’t do anything flashy but is very consistent and never seems to beat himself.

Grayson Schaefer is another freshman for us who we expect to have a big time season for us. He doesn’t look like a freshman physically and he is getting better every day. Hunter Rice, a junior, is another player who put in some time last year and made some stroke adjustments which I think will be a huge benefit for him going forward. He has all the strokes and as his mental game continues to improve, he’s going to be a fantastic player for us his last couple of years.

In addition to those players mentioned, Brayden McLean, Josh Hegstad, and Sam Griffith will all help us at some point this year. We think the depth of our team will be a huge benefit for us all season long.

MDN: What has training camp been like and what encouraging signs have you seen from your players?

DeLorme: We had two very good days of practice to start last week and then starting on Wednesday, we played challenge matches the remainder of the week to see where the boys would start the year.

The thing that we really like on this team, and we saw it last week in the challenge matches, is the way they compete. They want to win and they push themselves and each other to be better every practice.

MDN: What was the key to your second-place finish in WDA last season and how do you continue that momentum into this year?

DeLorme: I think we just have boys who like to play tennis. They are talented, they work hard, they get along, and at the end of the day, they want to win. They are team-first oriented and it allows us to mix and match doubles partners and lineups.

We have athletes who play multiple sports which I think is a big benefit and our tennis-only players have played all offseason. This coming weekend will be big for us as it will really give us a chance to pinpoint areas we need to improve as the season begins.

MDN: What are you expecting to see in the first meet of the year at the Jamboree?

DeLorme: The best part of this weekend is we will see what we need to improve on. We see things at practice, but they get magnified in a match setting. For the most part, I expect to see our boys come out and play well.

We’re experienced and the majority have gone through a varsity tennis season and know what to expect. We will mix and match lineups throughout the weekend to see different combinations, but we are excited to get out and see some different competition.