Warrior Tennis Prepares for Senior Night, Facing off Against Social Circle

Two WGHS Seniors speak on their upcoming tennis match against Social Circle on March 20, 2026, at Walnut Grove High School, as well as their journey with tennis.
​by Ty Cameron and Elly Croft

​Two WGHS seniors speak on their upcoming tennis match against Social Circle on March 20, 2026, at Walnut Grove High School, as well as their journey with tennis.

On Friday, March 20, 2026, the WGHS tennis team will be facing off against Social Circle. There will be three lines of singles and two doubles for both the boys and girls. It will also be Senior Night for the Warrior athletes.

Lucas Bell, a senior, speaks on his strategy for this upcoming game. “I’m just gonna try to play as strategic as I can because most of the time you always want to take the game-winning shot, but I think this game all I’m going to do is just try to place it back of the net and let my opponents mess up.”

Something he’s changing for this game is keeping a more positive attitude and “just do what I do best and just put the ball over the net.” To prepare for matches, Lucas usually does a prayer and keeps a positive attitude with his partner and his opponents as well. Since it is Senior Night, he wants to have a good time, but mainly, he focuses on having a positive match.

For Lucas, this year is his first season on the tennis team, so he is not really looking into playing tennis in college. He says, “Unless I get a scholarship or anything crazy, [I probably won’t play in college].” Being a senior on Varsity comes with many responsibilities and expectations. Lucas says he mostly has to be a role model and teach the underclassmen to do better than him. When asked what his favorite thing about playing tennis is, he responded with, “Definitely the environment and the trips that we go on. Tennis is just one of those sports where it’s not really more about the game; it’s more about the people.”

Kylie Hutchins, also a senior, talks about her journey through tennis. Kylie says, “I have been playing tennis since freshman year.” Kylie talks about her expectations for being a Varsity athlete while being a senior. She explains, “I feel like we actually have to help out a lot with the younger people to try to be a positive influence.” Kylie is very honored and proud to be looked up to by the underclassmen. She is also thinking about playing in a more structured environment for tennis. She says, “I think I’ll do intramural, but I’m not playing for a [college].”

Kylie was asked what her favorite thing about playing tennis is. She says, “Making all the friends that I have, and the coaches this year are really good too.” Kylie was also asked what her strategies are for the Social Circle game. She says, “I’m gonna work on my placement, and I’m going to just try my best to stay focused.”

Kylie gives good advice to prepare for a game. She explains, “I actually try to stay off my phone for a little bit and bond with my team and my doubles partner, Aubree Smith.” She also lists out some of her goals for the match against Social Circle. She says, “To win because it’s senior night.”

The Warriors will be having their match against Social Circle this Friday, with their next estimated match being March 30. Come out and support your Warriors as they close out the season.