According to varsity tennis head coach David Breitenbucher, for the last several years, the boys’ tennis team has faced dwindling numbers.

With the upcoming season, Breitenbucher said he encourages the team to reach out and recruit new players. He said it’s important to advocate for new players to join tennis in order to have a successful team.

“Our numbers have been pretty low the last few years,” Breitenbucher said. “I’ve been trying to get the players to really get the word out.”

According to senior co-captain Oscar Laing, in an effort to engage boys for spring tennis and to prepare for the upcoming season, the team put up posters and holds weekly captains’ practices. Laing said the practices have yet to draw in many new recruitments.

“We’re pulling from younger grades, like freshmen and sophomores,” Laing said. “We’ve consistently lost upperclassmen.”

According to Breitenbucher, low numbers on the boys’ team stands in stark contrast to the girls’ tennis team, which had enough players to fill three teams during the 2016 season.

Sophomore varsity team member Gerald Perelman said more players make the sport more enjoyable, but this tennis season might only have a varsity team.

“(People) are either busy or they might be interested (in the team), but they don’t know yet,” Perelman said.

Laing said recruiting new players is key to creating a strong, bonded team.

“If we don’t have enough players (then) we can’t really do (well),” Laing said.

Breitenbucher said less players impedes the competitiveness of the team, but the boys’ tennis program is not the only one having recruitment issues.

“Boys’ (tennis) numbers are down all over,” Breitenbucher said. “Bloomington Kennedy is in our conference, and they weren’t even able to fill a JV team this year.”

Tryouts will take place from 3 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. April 3 – 5 at the Park tennis courts.