As school winds into full swing at Marion High School, so too does the tennis season. Following a promising 2022 that saw stellar individual and doubles performances, this year's Patriot tennis teams turned in productive off-seasons across the board. Jaime White, who coached the boys' team last fall, is now over the boys and girls teams, and she's seen major leaps and bounds ahead of Marion's conference opener on August 10 against Nettleton. “I'm proud of this group and all the work they've put in since the end of last year,” said White. “We had excellent attendance at our off-season workouts and you can see where they have taken leaps on the court and in their knowledge of the game.” Marion's girls' team returns a plethora of experienced talent for 2023, including senior Akeylah Lathon and manager Kelby Lassiter. Lassiter turned in an all-conference 2023 season as the soccer team's goalkeeper and “she's been a major help for us with tennis,” said White. “She makes my life so much easier and really pays attention to what she's doing. When she first came out with us I don't even think I'd explained everything to her and she still could do things.” Lathon has primarily appeared for the past two years for the varsity team and “routinely impressed us at practice and workouts,” said White. “She's been our best or second-best singles player every day.” Sophomore Aubrie Weaver emerged last year as a competitive doubles player and “she's ready for singles, now,” said White. “Her and Akeylah give us a chance in a lot of matches because they're so tough.” Scarlett Knowlton spent her summer playing at the Memphis summer tennis camp and dazzled White with a vastly improved service game. Lilly Holloway stood out last year as a freshman on the varsity and she'll be counted on again this year. “She's grown in every way,” said White. “She was ahead of her time last year, and she's continued to improve.” Sophomore Kaden Foret offers a bevy of experience and athleticism to the team after she “contributed a ton to us last year,” said White. “You knew she would be a really good player and she's worked to make it so.” Jaclyn Burch and Chloe Griggs quickly learned the rules during summer workouts. Four-sport athlete Reese Goodwin will split time this fall between tennis and volleyball. Bella Barter, Alayla Peoples, Markaria Thomas, Joy Evans, Letizia, and Alexis Gonzalez, who are twins, develop throughout the fall. “They all can play and compete,” said White. “This may be the deepest girls' team we have ever had.” Elijah White and Coby Hayes anchored the boys' singles team in 2022 and they could pick up this year where they left off because “they played some real grudge matches against each other pretty much all summer,” said White. “It's great to see them evenly matched like that.” Basketball player Brady Cline proved to be a strong player during the summer Three-sport athlete Joe Allen split his summer between tennis and football and offers athleticism on the court. Soccer standout Aldo Sotelo and band member Isaac Pillaro profile as productive players after joining the team during the off-season.