Highland tennis coach sees upside for spring season, despite loss to O’Fallon

New Highland coach Zach Plocher knew when the Bulldogs played host to 2022 Class 2A third place finisher O’Fallon on Thursday that staying close to the Panthers would be a tall order.

The Bulldogs were competitive in two of the first four singles matches, but the Panthers rolled through the final five matches of the day and took a 9-0 win at Highland High School.

“They’ve got a really strong team this year and I did not realize they were that deep,” Plocher said. “O’Fallon’s a very, very strong team.”

Despite the setback, Highland had a few bright spots as junior Ruthie Manor lost her number two singles match 5-7, 2-6 and junior Peyton Beard lost a hard fought 5-7, 4-6 decision at No. 6 singles.

In doubles play, the Bulldogs battled to the wire as No. 1 junior tandem of Josie Wojickiewicz and Sophia Fleming lost 8-9 on a tiebreaker.

“We did pretty good at the one doubles and just lost on the tiebreaker,” Plocher said. “It was a battle at one.”

Plocher said he felt the match would be good for the team down the road.

“I kind of like those matches ... the eye openers,” Plocher said. “At the end of the day, O’Fallon is a different division, a bigger school but it’s always good to play those eye openers.”

Overall, the season has started well for the Bulldogs, which won its first dual match over Morton 8-1 on Aug. 25 at home.

A week earlier on Aug. 19, Highland trekked to Alton for the Alton Doubles Invite and won the 12-team tournament.

Plocher believes this edition Highland girls tennis will be as competitive as last year’s club that finished fourth in the Class 1A Centralia sectional.

“I like what I’ve seen so far, and I still think it’s going to be a solid group,” Plocher said.

This story was originally published September 1, 2023 at 10:16 AM.