Vicksburg’s varsity girls’ tennis team is facing a unique challenge in 2026: a schedule that’s entirely on the road. The high school’s courts are currently in an unplayable state, making for some unusual challenges this spring.
“We don’t have that home court advantage, and we’ve got to drive there and back,” Head Coach Nick Foley said during a meet at Paw Paw.
Some of the road trips are going to be on the longer end. They recently competed in a dual meet against Lincoln and Grosse Ile on the other side of the state. The girls won against Lincoln 7-1 and split against Grosse Ile 4-4.
Against Lincoln, Jenna Schramer won the two singles, Elise Howard won the three singles, and Maddie Kanouse won the four singles. In doubles action, Hannah Moyer and Sofia Martin won the one doubles. Ava Delatorre and Solana Sutherland took the two doubles. Three doubles went to Erica Centofanti and Sabrina Hooker. Alyssa Ambs and lily Schmid won the four doubles.
Against Grosse Ile, Maya Grossman won the one singles. Schramer and Howard took the two and three singles. Delatorre and Sutherland won two doubles. The team have also lost to Paw Paw and Parma this year. Their matchup against Plainwell was a clean, 8-0 sweep.
The road hasn’t been the only challenge this spring. Weather has also made it difficult to get outside and practice. Rain and wind cancelled their most recent Saturday tournament. Foley is hopeful the weather starts to get better soon, especially since the Conference is looking tough again.
“There is some strong competition in the conference this year, a lot of teams that are in the conference,” Foley said. “I think we’re going to be very competitive at the top of the conference again as we were in previous years.”
Foley is excited not just about this year’s team, but the future of the program, too. Vicksburg has a deep roster in JV this year. Additionally, the middle school program had one of the highest turnouts seen in years.
“I think we’re going to keep growing this program and that pipeline is getting a lot bigger for us to keep expanding and hoping to play at home in a few years here,” Foley said.
For now, the squad is embracing the challenges of competing on the road. Foley feels good about their chances, even if they never have a homefield advantage this year.
“I feel pretty good about the season, we’ve got some newcomers who are going to fill in for some of the seniors who graduated,” Foley said. “We had strong returns in our singles spots, so I have a strong feeling that we’re going to have a big competitive season this year.”
