EPHRATA — The Ephrata boys tennis team had a mixed result in the players' first couple of pre-league meets, first in Quincy on Saturday then in Chelan on Tuesday, said Tigers head tennis coach Courtney Burck. 

“First match — (players) always have to get the jitters out, and I was actually pretty happy with how solid we came out of that match,” Burck said. 

While the whole team did well overall against Quincy, she said she was particularly happy about Jacob Wolther’s performance. He ordinarily doesn’t play first singles, but he stepped up and took it on. 

“I was pretty proud of that,” she said. “He was positive and came out with a win and just played some really good tennis.” 

The team is doing well with serving, even on Tuesday when the Tigers lost their pairings against Chelan. Despite the losses, she said the team had some positives to bring out of that day. 

“It was really good to have some challenging matches. It definitely showed some things that we need to focus on, especially before we get to league,” Burck said. 

The pre-league matches also provide a chance for coaches to have their players in a variety of positions on the court, which in turn helps them find the right play style for each athlete.

With only one practice on Wednesday evening for the Tigers to address any shortcomings, Burck said she’ll continue to work to improve serving for the boys team, but as the season moves forward, she’ll continue to work on getting to the ball quickly.

“My biggest focus right now is hustling and getting some energy in their feet,” she said. 

The Tigers’ next match is against Cashmere on Thursday afternoon. Matches begin at 3 p.m.