The Lakeland High School boys’ tennis team went from no wins to two wins this season.

After having no wins last season, the Cavaliers boys’ tennis team took a step forward this year. As with all sports at Lakeland, they compete in the Southeastern District, where they are in the lowest classification. Going through the district schedule was rough and exciting at the same time for Lakeland, because it allowed the team to get better.

With the two wins they earned this season, Lakeland was able to win the city championship once again. Their two wins came against Nansemond River High School and King’s Fork High School. Coach Eric Jay his team wanted to make a step forward by winning a couple of games and then building off of that for next season and so on.

“I think those two wins were the highlight of the year,” Jay said. “We were close in other matches as well. We will be better next year.”

The team this year was mostly made up of sophomores. Jay felt like his team handled itself well in most of its matches. They were close in matches against Class 6 schools like Oscar Smith High School, which certainly could have been a boost to their season, and they were also competitive against Indian River High School. However, the Cavs believe better competition is always good to go against in the long run.

Quincy Bailey was the No. 1 player for the season and ended up with the most wins. Philip Blair showed substantial improvement this season, going from the No. 6 player from last season to the No. 3 player. Overall, there was progress all around the team this year.

“I’d be interested in seeing how we do next year,” Jay said. “The guys took steps this year, and if they all stick together, we can be even better next season. We wanted to win more games this season, and we did that. We want to improve a couple wins every season. I like this group a lot. They are a great group of guys. They are a hardworking group.”