The Park Hill South girls tennis team is aiming for a year of growth and development as they enter the new season.
Going into his 14th year as head coach of the girls tennis program, Ian Cunliff has more than 40 athletes out this season with a core group of four varsity players returning from last year’s team. The squad of Presley Davis, Sophia Dunn and Kate Supinski will be anchored by varsity veteran Ainsley Arnold.
Arnold will play a critical role for the Panthers as they look to rediscover more success than the previous two years, which has drawn a combined win-loss record of 5-21. Arnold brings back several years of varsity experience, including the 2023 season, in which she teamed up with Hana Bytyqi to finish runner-up in district doubles and make an appearance at the state tournament.
For the remaining couple of varsity spots, Cunliff has a pool of about eight girls competing to join the rest of the varsity team this season. “There is a small group of girls that I think will fill those bottom couple of varsity spots,” Cunliff said.
No matter the results on the court, Cunliff said the Panthers’ goal this season is to grow the players’ skillsets and to develop a greater love for the game.
“Ultimately, I would say that our goal is growth,” Cunliff said. “Learn more skills and become a little bit better as a coach. My goal every year is to identify, or at least encourage, between three to four players to become passionate about the sport and take it up year-round.”