As Brandon Funderburg enters his ninth season leading Baytown Lee tennis, the veteran coach has plenty of depth.
“This is the biggest team that I’ve had in my nine years and also the biggest group of seniors,” Funderburg said. “It is exciting, especially to return so many kids from last season. So, hopefully we can improve our skill set.”
With numbers comes plenty of options to fill out his team tennis roster this fall and then put together a lineup of individual players to battle in the springtime.
Baylee Dixon will lead the girls unit at the No. 1 spot as she enters her senior season. Salvador Garcia will take ownership of the No. 1 line on the boys side after coming off a solid junior campaign which included a couple of third- place finishes in the spring.
Judah Romero will enter his sophomore season and could be a big name for the Ganders by season’s end. Romero finished second at the Freshman District Tournament last year and looks to carry that momentum over to the varsity court in 2022. Andy Martinez will be one to watch in doubles play.
Overall, though, Funderburg’s goal is to grow a true love of the sport while competing.
“Our goal is to build the team, their skills and their foundation,” he said. “We have a tough district in front of us but we’re looking to make waves.
“Tennis is a lifelong sport. They can play it when they’re 30, 50 or when they are 80 years old. We’re trying to give them something they can fall in love with that’ll last a lifetime.”