(Harlan) Half of the varsity lineup is back for the Harlan boys tennis team.
Johnny Cheek, Braden Fink, and Adam Kohl are all gone to graduation, but Cyclone coach Chad Bruns identifies the returners from last season. “We have three returning letter winners coming back. Our #1 Brock Bruns, #3 Mitchell Rueschenberg, and our #6 Carter Wagner. So half our varsity team will be back and that’s the good news. The bad news is we lose six of our top nine players.”
Bruns was 5-5 last season to lead the team in wins.
The team went winless in duals last year, so they have room to improve. They are in line for another rugged schedule. Coach Bruns expects Atlantic and Denison-Schleswig to be among the top team in the Hawkeye Ten with Kuemper Catholic having a solid program as well.
Coach Bruns has stayed connected with his team during the prohibition of group activity. “I text them at least once a week just checking in on them to see how they are doing. I remind them to keep their minds and bodies as fit as possible. Keep active by any means necessary.”
Under the latest guidance from the Iowa High School Athletic Association boys tennis practice is set to begin on May 1st with competition starting on May 4th. Individual state qualifying will take place on May 20th and team tennis postseason dates are May 23rd and 30th. The individual state tourney is June 5th and 6th. The team tennis state tourney is June 9th. Dates are subject to change.
