A senior-laden Sedona Red Rock girls tennis team could not bring home a win from its first match Feb. 26 for new head coach Phil Kovac.

Although No. 2 singles player Yvesche Schlee, one of six seniors playing for the Scorpions varsity, won her match in a 10-point tiebreaker, no other singles or doubles combination worked for SRRHS in an 8-1 loss at Scottsdale Preparatory Academy.

“I want to win, don’t get me wrong, but I played 11 kids in that match,” said Kovac, a local tennis player who earned his stripes as assistant coach to both boys and girls tennis teams last spring. “I could’ve doubled my girls up easily and won maybe one more. I’m a little old-fashioned: If kids come out, I want them to play.”

More than two-thirds of the 16 total girls who came out for the Scorpions this spring did just that in their Division III, Section I opener. Schlee’s victory came by scores of 3-6, 6-4 and 10-7. She and No. 1 singles player Keely Miller are the only seniors with more than one year of experience in the program.

For the full story, please see the Friday, March 6, issue of the Sedona Red Rock News.