TAMPA, Fla. — It was another day of practice for the undefeated Citrus High School tennis team.
This is actually not a scheduled practice. The boys showed up and called their coach because that’s how much they love it out here.
For senior Riley Dodd, tennis is in his blood.
He told Spectrum Sports 360's Katya Guillaume, “My dad started me out really young playing tennis but he never, like, pushed me too much.”
His love for the sport has helped lead the team to its success over the past four years.
Head coach Tia Nelson said since the 2020 season, the team has held an undefeated regular season for three straight years.
"Since we’ve had Riley, I’m gonna be very honest. We have maintained pretty much undefeated seasons or very successful seasons," Nelson said.
"Last year we were first in the district. Overall, we swept the entire district, we did 7-all matches, we won every single one throughout the whole district match and we also won the regional match and went to state.”
They fell short at states last year, but that’s behind them.
The Hurricanes are closing out the Gulf Coast 8 conference play this season with a 13-0 record.
Their success — it’s not just one thing or one person.
Riley added, “One thing that’s led to our success is we have a lot of athletes on our team, so players who don’t just play tennis but play other sports.”
Like junior Mason Bryant. He’s the jokester on the team, He also plays basketball.
He jokingly said, “If you put anything there about basketball, make sure you tell them I’m committed to Duke.”
That may not be 100 percent accurate…not even 20 percent…but his lightheartedness has helped him on the tennis court.
Mason added, “I just make fun of myself, and it makes me laugh so then I don’t get mad at myself, because if you get mad in tennis, you don’t win.”
Coach Nelson continued, “I think that’s one of the best things that Mason has to offer to our team. That consistency and he’s able to joke. He loses a match, he lost a match and he’s like, well you know, he just doesn’t let it get to him.”
As a Citrus High alum herself, helping these boys reach their highest potential is something she’s happy about.
“It’s really amazing to me because it wasn’t something I thought I’d be coaching, but I’ve been coaching for years at Citrus and as an alumni, I feel so excited that these boys are doing so well under alumni coaching,” she said.
Now the team has their eyes set on a state title, something this group hasn’t been able to accomplish yet, but with all these elements together, they are confident they’ll able to hoist up a trophy this year.