The American River College men’s and women’s tennis teams look to rebuild with a group of young talented players this season.

Men’s coach Bo Jabery-Madison has just one returning player from his top six last year. That player is number two in the line up, sophomore Oscar Figueroa, who last year started number one.

Coach Jabery-Madison thinks highly of Figueroa, saying he is a “quiet leader type that leads by example and you just couldn’t want a better attitude from a kid in sports; hard work, honesty, and fairness.”

Other players to look for would be freshman Andrew Amor, starting out as number one, and Nick Krebs, a California State University, Sacramento transfer who will start the season at number three.

Coach Jabery-Madison believes that it’s not all about the numbers this season.

“I think the biggest thing that we have to focus on is to get the most out of ourselves, what I want to do is get the best out of my team. The outcomes will take care of themselves. The wins will take care of themselves, but we need to focus on really making sure that we have done everything we can do in practice to prepare for those matches,” said Jabery-Madison.

The women’s tennis team looks to build on a successful season last year, as they finished second in the Big Eight Conference (North). The girls made it to the Northern California playoffs, and had three players make it to the individual state tournament.

Coach Sarah Jackson looks to build off last year’s season, but with a whole new starting line up. There are no returning starters from last season, but the two team captains, number five in the starting line up Lindsey Hausman and number four in the line up Brittany Fortner-McDonell, have played with Jackson in the past. A player to watch for will be freshman Katy Marshall who will be starting number one.

Coach Jackson believes the success last season was in doubles and looks to implant that same strategy and mindset to this year’s team.

“I think one of the reasons why we were as successful as we were last year was because of our doubles. I think it could win you matches and last year proved that. We have been working on our doubles strategy and will continue to throughout the season because I think it’s a big part of the game,” said Jackson.