By Eric Lusk
Sports Editor
elusk@elkintribune.com

RONDA — You’ve got to get up mighty early in the morning to beat East Wilkes girls tennis players to the courts.

The Cardinals usually start their preseason workouts at 7 a.m., following a three-year tradition. Head coach Aaron Simmons tries to arrive at least 15 minutes before that, but he’s typically not the first one there.

“Tennis boot camp we call it,” Simmons said. “Some of them are there by 6:30 a.m. to hit. It’s incredible dedication.”

It’s hard to argue with the results. The Lady Cardinals made all sorts of school history last fall, winning their first conference and region titles, then beating Raleigh Charter to capture a 1A state championship.

That group never lost a dual match, and the No. 1 doubles tandem of Jessie Elmore and Brianna Fulp went on to collect the 1A state doubles crown.

While four of the top six players from the 2008 championship squad have graduated — Elmore and Fulp included — the sport remains as popular as ever at the school.

“Success breeds some more success,” Simmons said. “We have 19 girls right now. That’s a lot, but tennis is a lifetime sport. Who am I to make a cut? This is something they can play for the rest of their lives.”

Narrowing those 19 down to a starting six for singles and three starting doubles teams has been Simmons’ challenge the first few weeks of workouts.

The top three seem established. Seniors Jessica Taylor and Amy Hill will take over at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, and will play No. 1 doubles together. Junior Rachael Green, in her third year in the program, will take over at No. 3 singles.

Hill played at No. 4 on the Cardinals’ ladder last season, with Taylor at No. 5. Taylor has earned the upper hand in preseason challenge matches thus far, Simmons said.

Taylor was the consolation champion in the Girls 16 division at this past weekend’s Myers Junior Open in Elkin. Her only loss came to the eventual tournament runner-up.

“JT has really improved over the course of her career,” Simmons said. “She entered the top six as a sophomore and started to develop as a doubles player last year. She’s got great ground strokes and plays well at the net.”

Fulp and Elmore were a nice compliment in doubles in 2007 and 2008, with Fulp providing steady play from the back and Elmore aggressive at the net.

Taylor and Hill have a similar makeup together, with Taylor the aggressive net player and Hill the consistent force from the baseline.

“Both are very good players. Both are No. 1 type players,” Simmons said. “They could go a long ways in doubles. Amy is as good of a baseline player as I’ve ever coached. She puts the ball where she wants to.”

Other players are still battling for the rest of the starting spots.

Senior Sonya Billings, sophomore Audrianna Bauguess and freshman Kelly Johnson lead the way for now, with seniors Kaitland Wagoner and Lakyn Walker, junior Kayla Martin and sophomores Meredith Nance and Mary Garris also in the mix.

Simmons likes Bauguess’ competitive drive. “She’s as fiery as any female athlete that we have at our school,” he said. “She’s the kind of girl that you want to have in your top six.”

Billings has been in the program for four years. She played at No. 10 last season and is a patient, steady presence on the court.

“The girls who are going to be in my top six are not going to make a lot of unforced errors,” the coach said. “That wins in high school girls tennis, big time.”

Johnson reminds Simmons of former players like Elmore, Fulp and Lauren Stutts (2008 state championship match MVP) when they arrived as freshmen in terms of potential. She also is a standout in basketball.

Martin could be a doubles starter even if she isn’t in singles. Wagoner, though she didn’t play many varsity matches a year ago, proved a key team leader and looks to fill that role again this year.

Simmons said he’s not going to talk a lot about the 2008 state championship run with this year’s players, only when there is a beneficial lesson to pass along.

The 2008 team came into the year with high expectations on their shoulders. This year’s group will fly more under the radar, at least initially.

“There probably isn’t a whole lot expected of us,” Simmons said. “I do think we can contend within the conference. I think we’ll be competitive. I don’t know if we’ll be at the tip-top. But our goal, not to sound cliche, is to take it one game at a time and get experience with every match we play, and really focus on the 1A matches.”

East Wilkes will join a new 1A/2A split conference this fall. The league will still include Elkin and Alleghany from the former Northwest 1A, but traditional powers like Mount Airy, East Surry and North Stokes have been moved into a different conference.

The 2A teams moving into East’s league are Starmount, Ashe County, Forbush and Wilkes Central. North Wilkes, which is dropping down from 2A to 1A, also is a new conference opponent. West Wilkes may not field a girls tennis team this fall.

Ashe County and Wilkes Central traditionally have solid tennis programs. Starmount’s Carla Cave won the Mountain Valley 2A singles title a year ago and returns this season.

Alleghany has a solid No. 1 in Jessica Gentry.

“Every school has a pretty solid one-two punch,” Simmons said. “As far as depth goes, I see Elkin having the best. They are solid. It’s going to be pretty wide open but I see Elkin towards the top.”

East Wilkes will scrimmage North Stokes at home Thursday. Keeping with the theme of the preseason, matches will start at 8 a.m. The regular season starts Monday at Wilkes Central.

The home opener will be Aug. 19 against East Surry, a team Simmons believes could be among the best in 1A this fall.

East Surry returns Megan Shelton to its lineup. Shelton was the 1A singles runner-up in 2007, but did not play for the Cardinals last season. Mount Airy, North Stokes, Raleigh Charter and Topsail also look to have strong programs in 1A this fall, Simmons said.

The Mountain Valley 1A/2A tournament will be Oct. 13-14 at Wilkes Central.

“This team has a ton of potential,” Simmons said. “The area where we lack is experience. They have played a lot of tennis but not a lot of competitive tennis.”