Aberdeen Central will feature a new-look lineup this spring, but the Golden Eagles should have plenty of leadership to rely on.

Central has six seniors out for the sport, although some have never played on the varisty before.

The squad will be led by seniors Gannon Pederson and Wyatt Kiesz, junior Aric Tennant, and sophomore Dawson Pederson.

“The Pederson brothers and Aric played varsity least year. Wyatt’s been one of our top JV guys and played a lot of varsity,” said Central coach Trent Kurtz. “I think those guys are going to be our top four and fill the top two doubles spots. After that it’s kind of wide open.”

That’s where a trio of seniors comes into play.

“We have a lot of seniors. Kids like Josiah Grandpre filled in and got some varsity wins. Alex Tarver and Grayson Rehder, they started tennis late. I don’t think they even started playing until either freshman or sophomore, but they put in a lot of time,” Kurtz said. “They’ve improved so much. They’ve really kind of bought into tennis and put the time in, and when you do that, you get a lot better.”

So while the Golden Eagles will be short on experience at the bottom of the lineup, Kurtz likes the potential of the players who will man those positions.

“We have a lot of competition going on for the last two couple spots,” Kurtz said, “but I do think we’ll be strong at those lower spots, just because how much time a lot of those kids have put in.”

Central lost four of its top six varsity players from a year ago, but Kurtz noted this year’s members have worked hard in the off season.

“We lost a lot of really good players last year, but I really do like where we’re at. A lot of our kids were playing this winter,” Kurtz said. “At least 7-8 of our kids had weekly time at the indoor court this winter. It’s not always like that. So they’ve put in the time, they’ve improved a lot. I’m excited to see where some of those kids are.”

Regardless of which player ends up where in the lineup, the given is that people will be moving up the ladder after the graduation of the top two players from a year ago.

“Everybody’s going to jump up and the game just gets kind of quicker and a lot more pace,” Kurtz said. “There’s going to be adjustment for a lot of people, whether you’re going from low varsity or mid varsity to high varsity or from JV to varsity, there’s definitely a jump for everybody.”

While piecing together doubles squads is usually a challenge, Kurtz said he has a plan in mind for the top two doubles teams, at least to start the season.

“The Pederson brothers, we’re going to start them at one,” Kurtz said, “and then Aric and Wyatt I think will be a good number two.”

The Golden Eagles have been able to take advantage of the decent weather so far, spending part of their practice time outside. That puts the team ahead of its pace from some other years.

“Of my first eight years of being the head coach, four of them our first day outside was out in Rapid City,” Kurtz said.

Central starts its season with five matches in three days beginning Thursday at the West River Invitational. Kurtz likes the busy start to the campaign.

“Something we added kind of in the last 8-10 years here, going out west and playing all the West River teams right away, so we get to play matches before most teams in the state do,” Kurtz said. “You get that baseline, but also I think it helps you for the next week or two, because you have that match experience that some of the other teams we’re playing in week two or three, they haven’t played a match yet. I definitely think it’s beneficial.”

Kurtz has not established season-long goals yet, but is excited to get the season started.

“I like where our team’s at to start the year,” Kurtz said. “I think they’ve put in a lot of time this winter and hopefully we just keep getting better every day and we’ll see where we’re at after that.”