RAF LAKENHEATH — Logan Snow, Jenna Harris and Felicia Lamothe will soon join Molly Henage, Kayla Esmond and Kai Pope in search of European sports titles.

Snow, Harris and Lamothe are three seniors competing on the Lakenheath High School tennis team, while Henage, Esmond and Pope will be driving, chipping and putting for championships as members of the school’s golf team.

Tennis coach Tom Brock is busy working with more than 40 players as the team prepares for its Saturday home opener tournament against London Central and Alconbury.

“I’d say it’s a growth year. We do a lot of drills for now,” said Brock. “The forehands, backhands, and serves. It’s monotonous drills, but that’s what they need right now.”

Across the 48th Fighter Wing installation on the Breckland Pines Golf Course, Otis McCloskey and Shannon Hastreiter are filling in for last year’s coach, Kent Daugherty, to lead a golf team full of potential but short on pre-tournament tune-up time.

Henage and Esmond, who each average in the low 80s over 18 holes, are the two leading senior girls on the 20-person, co-ed squad. Henage is already looking ahead to competing collegiately.

Esmond, meanwhile, simply can’t get enough of the game.

“I’ve swung the club since I was five with my dad,” she said. “This is my favorite sport. I love it.”

Kai Pope is a junior who shoots in the high 80s and has set his sights on a strong showing at the DODDS-European tournament.

“I want to go to Europeans and hopefully finish in the top 10,” he said.

The golfers have to be on their game when it counts as they only have two matches in the regular season — Sept. 21-22 at home and the following weekend in Kaiserslautern — to qualify for the championship tournament.

At Alconbury High School, tennis coach Teddie Bell and assistant Larry Miller are loaded with talent on a team that has captured three straight Division III European titles and could send six players to compete for championships this year.

“We’re in a position to do it again this year,” Miller said.

The squad is led by senior Christian Felice on the boys side and sophomore Ellyn Edward on the girls.

Junior Lyndon Bacon and sophomore Byron Washington as well as sophomore Kaitlin Cloum and freshman Heather Brown round out the squad.

London Central, preparing for its final year, has revived its tennis team under coach Brent Church after sitting out last season.

Tennis schedule

Alconbury

Sept. 16: at Lakenheath/ London Central

Sept. 30: at London Central/ Brussels

Oct. 7: at Lakenheath/ London Central/Kaiserslautern

Oct. 14: at London Central

Oct. 21: at Brussels

Lakenheath

Sept. 16: London Central, Alconbury

Sept. 23: at Wiesbaden

Sept. 30: Bitburg

Oct. 7: Alconbury, London Central, Kaiserslautern

Oct. 14: AFN

Oct. 21: Ramstein

London Central

Sept. 16: at Lakenheath/ London Central

Sept. 30: Brussels/ Alconbury

Oct. 7: at Lakenheath/ London Central

Oct. 14: Alconbury

Oct. 21: Baumholder

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