By Andy Hutchison

WESTPORT — A mix of youth and experience will take to the courts this spring for the Staples High girls tennis team’s campaign against their FCIAC foes.

The Wreckers lost six players, who added a tremendous amount of depth, to graduation last year, Coach Jennifer Wider said.

“But we shouldn’t be underestimated this year. Our seniors are veterans with a lot of match experience and innate tennis ability,”  Wider said.

“Audrey Kercher was All-FCIAC First Team last year, advancing far into the state championship. Karenna Birns, who will be at the top of our roster this year, was All-FCIAC Second Team in singles with very few losses last year,” the coach added.

“Many of our returning players have been preparing for our season all year and we’ve added quite a bit of talent to the roster. I’m looking forward to a great season.”

Birns and Kercher, along with Caroline Caggiano, are the captains, joined by returning seniors Jenna Kornbluth and Lucia Wang.

Tough teams in the FCIAC this year will be Darien, New Canaan and Wilton, Wider anticipates. 

Last year, Staples was the FCIAC’s West Division champ and finished runners-up to Darien overall. 

The new season kicks off at noon Monday, April 10, against visiting Ridgefield.

Andy Hutchison has been covering school sports — including Staples athletics — as well as news and feature stories in Fairfield County, since the 1990s. Learn more about us here.