BENTONVILLE — Teah Flynn has experienced plenty of change during her tenure with Farmington’s girls tennis team, especially when it comes to coaches.
The junior starts her third season with the Lady Cardinals next month, and it comes with her third coach. Matt Maher, already an assistant boys basketball coach, was chosen to oversee Farmington’s tennis program in May.
Flynn, however, has something else she would like to change — the way she has finished postseason play. She’s won the 4A-1 Conference singles the past two seasons, only to be eliminated in the Class 4A State Tournament semifinals.
“For my first year, I was glad just to be able to place and everyone was proud of me,” she said Saturday before her match in the Nestle Summer Open State Championships. “The second year I could have done better, but something happened and it didn’t work out.
“This year, I’m hoping for something more. I’m hoping to go all the way.”
Flynn drew the No. 3 seed in the girls 16s singles division despite this being her first tournament in more than two months. She didn’t fare too well in her opening match, dropping a 6-3, 6-2 decision to Caroline Wakefield of Alpharetta, Ga., and falling into the consolation round.
AT A GLANCE
Nestle Summer Junior Open State Championships
WHEN: Concludes today
WHERE: Memorial Park, Bentonville, and Pinnacle Country Club, Rogers
NOTABLE: The tournament consists of boys and girls ages 10-18, with singles and doubles division. … Players represent nine states in the event, which is sanctioned by the United States Tennis Association.
Though she would have preferred an early victory and picked up the points that come with playing in United States Tennis Association tournaments, she was also making preparations for her upcoming season.
“I’ve been practicing a lot at Pinnacle Country Club in my free time,” she said. “I’ve been taking a little break because of school work and stuff, but it’s been good.
“I’ve done well in 16s. I’m not exactly undefeated, but I’ve won some tournaments from it so that’s good. I’m making good progress, and I’m learning a lot. I can use that to my benefit during my high school season.”
The transition to a new coach shouldn’t be that big of a deal since Flynn has done it in the past. She has been able to maintain key elements of what her previous coach has taught her, then mix in anything different that the new coach wants to implement to his players.
What Mahan will try to instill into the Lady Cardinals has yet to be determined. A busy summer schedule with other activities and vacations hasn’t left much time to work on tennis.
“I’ve never seen Teah go out there and just cut it loose yet,” he said. “I wish I could have gone out and seen her play this weekend.
“But what I’ve seen from her from a personal standpoint, I’ve seen how mature and outgoing she is. I know she will be a leader and help involve everybody on the team. I’m leaning heavily on the kids right now and seeing what they will need this season because I know everybody is expecting good thing out of this team.”