Witteman, whose team will compete Tuesday at Worthington Kilbourne, expects to use his knowledge to guide a relatively young team.

"We have a lot of teaching, a lot of learning of tennis," he said. "They're working hard. I try to tell them that you can't be discouraged. We're playing against teams like Reynoldsburg that have middle school tennis. Some of those kids played even earlier than middle school and some of my boys just don't have that experience."

The Cougars, who are 1-4 overall and 0-2 in the OCC-Central Division, also will visit Groveport on Wednesday and play host to West on Thursday.

After opening with a 3-2 loss to Teays Valley on March 30, the Cougars beat West Jefferson 5-0 on March 31. Winners were junior David Griffith at first singles 6-1, 6-0, senior Allan Hinch at second singles 6-0, 6-2, sophomore Andy Van at third singles 6-0, 6-0, sophomores Troy Fleischman and Scottie Haslam at first doubles 6-0, 6-0 and juniors Colin McCarty and Jacob Neff at second doubles 6-0, 6-1.

Junior Jesse Kraft and sophomore Tyler Thomas round out the team.

"David played second singles last year and this year he is playing first singles," Witteman said. "He's doing a good job. He's facing very tough opponents."

Westland has lost three consecutive matches, including to Reynoldsburg 5-0 last Wednesday.

The Cougars lost to Dublin Coffman 4-1 last Tuesday. Hinch, who played doubles last season, earned a 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 victory at second singles.

Westland will compete in the OCC-Central with Coffman, Central Crossing, Hilliard Darby, Hilliard Davidson, Thomas Worthington, Upper Arlington and Kilbourne. The Cougars lost to Davidson 5-0 on April 2.

"My goal is to practice and get better everyday," Witteman said. "We want to stay positive, learn the game and I will teach them the game, and have fun playing tennis."

•The baseball team was 3-2 overall and 0-1 in the OCC-Central before a game against Davidson last Thursday. It will play host to Thomas on Monday and UA on Thursday and at Darby on Friday. It has non-league games at Ready on Tuesday and Fairbanks for a doubleheader Saturday.

Westland fell to Coffman 11-0 last Wednesday. The Shamrocks scored 10 runs in the first two innings.

The Cougars turned in a dominating performance in sweeping a doubleheader against Marion-Franklin on April 4. Westland won the first game 14-4 behind winning pitcher John Slagle and completed the sweep 12-1 in the second game as Lucas Pencek earned the win. Chad Helsel hit a three-run home run in the first inning.

•The softball team was 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the OCC-Central before its game against Davidson last Thursday. The Cougars will play host to Coffman on Tuesday and UA on Wednesday and visit Darby on Thursday. Westland will play Watterson and Westerville Central on Saturday at Watterson.

The Cougars cruised past Grandview 13-1 and 7-1 on April 4. Samantha Porter threw a one-hitter to earn the win in the opener. Brandi Rees threw a two-hitter to pick up the win in the second game.