The tennis team will travel to Allen High School this Tuesday to take on Greenville High in the bi-district round of the UIL 5A team playoffs. If the team wins over the Lions, it will advance to the area round of playoffs.

Senior Sammi Hayward said she is confident in her team’s chances against Greenville.

“I think we will win on Tuesday,” Hayward said. “Our goal is to get to the regional finals to play Highland Park, and if we do that, it will be a successful season. Since we are now in the playoffs, some teams will be very good, so we will have to be on our A-game.”

Head coach Adam Cherry’s goal for the team is to not only get passed the first round of bi-district, but to have a deep playoff run.

“I am hoping we can make it to the regional finals,” Cherry said. “So far the only 5A schools that have beat us are Highland Park and Amarillo, which are number one and number two in the state.”

If the team does make it to the regional finals, they will most likely face their district rival, Highland Park. District play was important for the team, and the practices in the preseason helped the team as it aimed for a long playoff run this week, junior Abby Sibson said.

“I think all the matches we played in district were good practice for the better teams we are playing in the playoffs,” Sibson said. “It allowed the coaches to see what lineups to use and it helped us bond as a team.”

Although the team has a short amount of time in between games–possibly playing two games in three days–Cherry said he isn’t worried about the possible lack of energy and health of the team.

“Matches will be done in one and a half to two hours which isn’t really that tiring for us,” Cherry said. “The short downtime will not affect us in the slightest.”

In the last game two weeks ago, the team went on the road and defeated Mesquite Poteet single-handedly 19-0.

“I think we played well and had good energy going into the match,” senior Chris Sun said. “We always have things to work on as a team, but we definitely played well overall.”

The win over Poteet marked the end of district play as the team finished with one loss, which came to Highland Park.

The team will travel to Allen High School once again for the area match if it beats Greenville. The Leopards will then face the winner of McKinney North and Frisco Heritage on Oct. 19.