The pieces are all in place for the Aberdeen Roncalli tennis squad this spring. The Cavaliers not only return the bulk of their lineup from a year ago, but also have a senior leader back in the fold after missing last year with injury.

“Even the kids that we lost last year were down in our depth-line a little bit, so the top of our line is back this year,” said first year head boys’ coach Jason Haskell. “We’ve got some kids that have some pretty good experience filling those gaps with a couple of seniors we lost last year.”

Not only are most of the players back from last season, the members have experience and a high tennis IQ.

“A lot of them are instructors in the Parks and Rec program,” Haskell said, “so they’ve been around tennis, not only at a playing level, but at a teaching level, too, so they know the game a little bit better than most.”

The Cavaliers will be led by seniors Cason Hellwig and Palmer Johnson. The two have been staples of the program for the past couple of seasons and will be counted on for their leadership.

“If you’ve been around the program for a number of years, I would expect you to be not only a vocal leader, but a leader on the court,” Haskell said, “and those two will have no problem with picking up the slack in that area.”

Senior Landon Zikmund is back after missing his entire junior season due to an injury. Gannon May, Ezra Feickert, Jayden Reecy and Will Haskell, all bring varsity experience to the squad, and Ben Goebel could also be key a contributor.

“The depth is there, now it’s just as matter of getting on the court. I’ve got kids at all different levels that are beating each other,” Coach Haskell said, “Trying to figure out what’s going to be the best for our kids, lineup wise, not only today but for the future.”

The Cavaliers open their season today and tomorrow in Rapid City. While the team has been able to practice outdoors because of the mild weather, Haskell, who is also the girls’ coach, said the start of the season comes faster compared to the girls’ campaign.

“I’m trying to adjust to the boys’ season,” Haskell said. “It’s like trying to drink from a fire hydrant and we don’t even have snow this year. I feel like we’ve barely started and we’re talking matches already.”

Haskell said he would like his players to progress throughout the season with the goal of peaking at the state tournament in May.

“The only tournament that really matters is the state tournament,” Haskell said. “I like duals just for the fact of getting out and playing a lot of tennis, and those in-season tournaments are kind of nice just to get a gauge for things, but whether it’s in a dual or a tournament setting, you just have to play the matches.”

The Cavaliers will be able to put battle-tested veterans at nearly every flight this spring.

“Everybody that’s going to be in that lineup toeing the line this year, has been in a state setting,” he noted, “so they’ve felt the pressure.”

Roncalli will face a variety of competition over the next two days, which will help to clarify some of the positions in the lineup for the upcoming season.

“We’ll probably come back after that and try to assess where we’re at and where we think we can go, individually and as a team,” Haskell said.

Haskell said that he is looking forward to kicking off the season and establishing a baseline for things to come.

“I’m looking forward to just getting to know these kids a little better, watch them play,” Haskell said. “We’ll play some really tough matches when we go out to Rapid City. Part of it’s the strokes, part of it’s the game and part of it’s between the ears.”