When Coach Kevin England took over the Russellville Middle School tennis team last year, the young Golden Tigers won their first match in six or seven years. “They were very excited about that,” England said. Tennis season has come back around, and England and his team are gearing up for an exciting ten matches.

England said his team will play up against middle school teams outside their classification, but “It’s a good spread,” England said. “The more we can do here and the more interest we generate at this level, the better we’ll be able to get them to take that on up to the high school level.”

England retained his core group from last year, one of whom is Anna Wood, who was active in different leagues all summer.

“It was good experience,” she said. “It’s just fun to do – it’s something you can do on your own or play with your parents.” Wood said she’s also feeling good about the team’s outlook this season. “We have lots of good players. We’ve done a lot of hard work – practiced together and done lessons together.”

The team’s first match was last night. Results were not available prior to press time.