In his ninth season as Oak Harbor High School tennis coach, Horace Mells has a large, but inexperienced group of players out for the team.

“Right now, I have 47 players and there are a couple more who are trying to get their physicals done,” he said.

Last year, the Wildcats finished 2-14 in the WesCo North, but lost three matches by narrow 4-3 margins.

Mells said he doesn’t have the experience on the team he has enjoyed in past seasons.

“I only have five players with varsity experience returning,” he said.

Among these players are seniors Alyssa Merriman and Marilu Morgan, and junior Jennifer Jansen.

Jansen won her first round match at last year’s division tournament, but was eliminated in the quarterfinals.

“Alyssa will be our number one singles players and Jennifer will be number two,” Mells said. “After that, we are still trying players out.”

Merriman said the Wildcats have a young team but they’re willing to put in the work to get better.

“If we make the post season, it would be awesome,” she said.

“We don’t have many returning players, so we are just going to have to work a little harder,” Jansen added.

Among the players vying for varsity positions are sophomores Laurin Rico, Erin Neilon and Molly Deleon.

“We have a lot of work to do, but we are still going to try to improve on last year,” Mells said. “All of the players on the team have great attitudes, and I am sure they are all willing to put out the effort it takes for us to reach our goals.”

The Wildcats don’t have the opportunity to play any preseason matches, and jump right into the WesCo North Tuesday, March 11, playing at Cascade.

Oak Harbor comes right back Thursday, March 13, hosting Arlington in a 3:45 p.m. match on the high school courts.