Following a year that saw significant improvement from the Powell Panther boys’ tennis team, the Panthers are set to return half of their lineup from a year ago with a number of competitors improving from last season.

“With every season that we have kids coming back that have had varsity and match play experience working through both regional and state tournaments, it’s a great opportunity,” coach Joe Asay said. “Some of those kids will be competing in some of the same spots, most of them will be moving, trying something different. They’ve had competitive match play here and so it’s great to have them back. I’m pretty excited about what that’s going to look like for us this year.”

The Panthers will be paced by senior Nathan Preator, who moved up to the No. 1 singles last season after playing two years at the No. 2 singles spot.

Preator finished fourth a season ago at state, but expects tough competition at the top as the second and third place competitors return, although none of the other top six are back.

Behind Preator, the Panthers will need to reshuffle the lineup and fill a number of spots, as senior Ryan Barrus returns after spending last season at No. 1 doubles.

“Ryan is going to probably have an opportunity to compete in that two singles spot,” Asay said. “That’s kind of the interesting part about tennis is they get out and they compete to earn those spots. Wherever they land, it will be great because whoever lands in that spot will have had varsity experience.”

Along with Barrus the Panthers return juniors Memphis Solberg and Calvin Opps from the No. 3 doubles state team, as Asay has seen improvement from a number of players at the junior level and is hopeful they can help take that next step for the Panthers.

“I think one of the biggest things is that they’ve had opportunities to continue to work on their game. Unfortunately, no indoor facilities around here for them to be able to keep at it after the fall season, but one of the things I’ve always emphasized is that the fall season doesn’t begin in August, but the first of April when the nets go on the courts,” Asay said. “A lot of those kids have taken advantage of that through some different opportunities. I’m pretty excited to see them ready to come out and compete this year. For those that haven’t had varsity experience, they’re coming out having spent some time on the court. So that’s great.”

Beyond those varsity returners, Asay said the Panthers have a number of kids competing for spots this season, with that group of juniors helping push each other to earn spots in the varsity lineup.

“It’s like anything, you have some level of depth with some kids pushing in from the 9-12 spots then you have the opportunity for a pretty good team roster,” Asay said. “The ability for us to be able to compete at all the spots, that’s fun. We’ve got a good group of juniors pushing one another. So it’ll be fun to see how the team as a whole will be able to compete this year.”

The Panthers are hoping to push back up the leaderboard at the state tournament this season, following a ninth place team finish last year in a competitive field for boys’ tennis.

Powell opens at home, with an adjustment to the early season schedule as the Panthers welcome Sweetwater County competition on separate days.

The Panthers host Green River on Monday at noon, before taking on Rock Springs on Tuesday at 8 a.m.

“We’re just ready to get them out there on the courts, getting them competing and hopefully dealing with the nerves a little bit,” Asay said. “It’s great to have those nonconference matchups. Green River and Rock Springs bring back a ton of kids so from a varsity standpoint, hopefully some opportunities for some good, competitive matches and get a chance to set a little bit of a benchmark.”

The Panthers will have a number of opportunities to get on the court by the end of August, with six matches before September. The season quickly barrels towards the conference tournament in Cody on Sept. 19-20 and state in Gillette Sept. 25-27.