Experience, Depth Pluses For Rogers High

Tiffany Tang, left, and Katherine Tang, of Rogers High, high five on Oct. 9 during the doubles match at the 7A/6A West Conference Tennis Tournament in Fayetteville.
Tiffany Tang, left, and Katherine Tang, of Rogers High, high five on Oct. 9 during the doubles match at the 7A/6A West Conference Tennis Tournament in Fayetteville.

ROGERS —Experience and depth will be a plus for the Rogers High boys tennis team this year.

Rogers has 16 players on the varsity roster, including a trio of freshmen that could help. Three

Rogers High Tennis

Date^Opponent^Time

Aug.22^Fort Smith Northside/Fort Smith Southside^3:30 p.m.

Aug. 27^at Rogers Heritage (G)^3:30 p.m.

Aug. 27^Rogers Heritage (B)^3:30 p.m.

Aug. 29^at Springdale Har-Ber^3:30 p.m.

Sept. 3^at Springdale High^3:30 p.m.

Sept. 5^at Fayetteville^3:30 p.m.

Sept. 12^Siloam Springs^3:30 p.m.

Sept. 17^Bentonville^3:30 p.m.

Sept. 19^Van Buren^3:30 p.m.

Sept. 23^at Bryant^3:30 p.m.

Sept. 24^Springdale Har-Ber^3:30 p.m.

Sept. 26^at Rogers Heritage^3:30 p.m.

Sept. 30^at Bentonville^3:30 p.m.

Oct. 3^Fayetteville^3:30 p.m.

Oct 9-10^7A/6A-West Conference at Bentonville^TBD

returning Mounties have state tournament experience.

“We have some good players coming back,” Mounties coach Mike Harper said. “Our freshmen class is really pretty strong. Overall, I am optimistic about what we have going on.”

Riley McGill, a junior, is slated to play at No. 1 singles for the Mounties. He qualified for the Class 7A State Tennis Tournament last season in doubles. Freshman Michael Zheng will be at No. 2 singles and will team with McGill in doubles.

“Riley has been playing for years, and years, and years,” Harper said. “It’s time for him to show the fruits of his labor. Michael puts in the time and effort and is deserving of the success he has had.”

Seniors Will Fusillo and David Moore will figure in the middle of the singles lineup. Moore was a match away in doubles with junior Austyn Ayson in making the state tournament last season. Junior Ryan Brooks and Adam Beach have also shown improvement. Freshmen Moss Mathews and Jack Vaughn have also shown potential to help the Mounties.

“Depth up-and-down the lineup,” Harper said. “We have a chance to be pretty good.”

Senior Tiffany Tang will be a favorite to win an unprecedented fourth Class 7A State Championship and Overall title this season.

She won the Class 7A and Overall singles titles as a freshman and sophomore and last year she teamed with her younger sister, Katherine, to win both championships in doubles. Katherine Tang is a sophomore.

That victory and a strong showing by Haeleigh Long in singles propelled the Lady Mounties to a second straight Class 7A State Championship.

Long is also back after advancing to the singles semifinals at the state tournament. She will again play No. 1 singles.

“We had good success with those individuals last season, and I am confident in my returning players,” Rogers coach Matt Fulton said. “But I am still looking for a No. 2 singles player and a No. 2 doubles. But, we have a lot of quality kids that are showing promise.”

Olivia Montoya, Conley Mathews, Shreya Majagi, Jessamy Samuels and Kaitlan Krantz are all in the mix for the other top spots in the Rogers lineup.

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