New Coach, New Lineup Spark Rangers Tennis

PARMA — The sun disappeared behind gray clouds late Wednesday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Park and the temperature dropped quickly from the last rays summer to the first chill of fall.

Maybe that was why nearly every member of the girls’ tennis team clustered together outside the courts, to keep warm thanks to their collective body heat.

Or maybe, just maybe, they wanted to cheer their teammates on to a win.

With senior Nina Pizzo and junior Rachel Elder the last Rangers on the courts and their Northeast Ohio Conference match against the Parma Redmen still up in the air like a ball just waiting to be served, the Lakewood players formed a line along the fence and cheered. Less than 10 minutes later, Pizzo and Elder wrapped a win in straight sets and the Rangers had a 3-2 conference win.

“We have a lot of new girls,” said senior Hannah Gallovic, who played first singles Wednesday, “but everyone has a lot of potential. I think we have a lot of promise in future years.”

Forget 2012 or ’13 or even ’14 for now.

These Rangers are pretty good right now.

Yes, their overall record is only 3-8, and yes, with new coach Alex Jurs running drills and setting the lineup, they are working with their third coach in as many seasons. But all signs point to a strong finish to this short tennis season.

After six straight losses to start the season, the Rangers have wins in three of their last five matches — over Valley Forge, North Ridgeville and Parma — and each of the five players new this season to the varsity lineup appears to be more comfortable on the court with every match. Good thing, too, with one more match on the schedule this week, four next week and three more the last week of September before the sectional and NOC tournaments.

The change started in July, shortly after Lakewood hired Jurs as its new girls’ tennis coach. Jurs played her tennis at Fairview, still plays today around Cleveland and, at 26, is closer in age to her players than she is their parents. Within weeks of her appointment, she organized and scheduled drills, then started practices as soon as possible during the first week of August.

Two weeks later, the Rangers played their first match. And lost. Then they lost again. And again. And again and again and again.

Finally, on the last day of August, the Rangers enjoyed that breakthrough win over Valley Forge. The drills were working. The practices were evident during the matches.

“They haven’t had any consistency,” Jurs said. “I had the same coach all through high school, so I knew what to expect, I knew the coaching style, the training schedule.”

They are still rebuilding, just like their opponents Wednesday, the Parma Redmen, who have 10 girls on the roster this season. That might not sound like many, until Parma coach Natalie Marotta mentions that there was no team in 2009 or 2010.

The Rangers are a little further along than that, and still building. They have plenty of matches remaining during the regular season. Perhaps plenty more during the postseason, too.

Lakewood 3

Parma 2

At Veterans Memorial Park, Parma

Singles: Emily Knauss (P) d. Hannah Gallovic, 6-4, 7-6 (3-7); Courtney Shaw (L) d. Kim Potter, 6-0, 6-1; Lizzie Knauss (P) d. Gwen Stephen, 6-1, 6-2. Doubles: Kelly McKee and Erin Hoffert (L) d. Katlynn Hale and Sara Keeler, 6-0, 6-1; Nina Pizzo and Rachel Elder (L) d. Abby Steiber and Lea Breedlove, 6-1, 6-2.

JV: Diana Hanson (L) d. Abby Hipwell, 8-1; Melissa Siegel and Claire Gliozzi (L) d. Ravneet Kaur and Amanda Miller, 8-5.

Up next: The Rangers (3-8, 2-1 NOC) will play host to the Twinsburg Tigers at 4:15 p.m. Friday.