KMAQ SPORTS: Central DeWitt Boys’ Tennis making first ever trip to state

BY ANNABELLE SCHNEIDER – Weekend Moring Announcer and Sports In-Studio Producer:

Central DeWitt senior Ashton Schneider has played tennis for all of his high school career. The Sabers tennis program, which was first established in 2020 is in its sixth year. Schneider has been part of that program for the last four. “It’s definitely been an exciting and rewarding journey”, says Schneider about his tennis journey.  Schneider reflects on the 2026 Boys tennis team and the firsts of its programs history. “This tennis season has been an awesome journey for the team as a whole and for my personal growth”, Schneider said. “As a team, we accomplished something no other team has in our school history. It has shown our development over the years and how impactful our coaches are to us.” Some of the program’s firsts for the boys include a trip to the state tennis tournament this year as a team, sending the first doubles duo to State last year (Schneider and senior Hudson Krukow finished in 7th place), sending back-to-back doubles to State this year in which Schneider and Max Froeschle finished in 7th place overall and crowning its first district champions in class 1A for singles or doubles. 

Coaches Carl Small and Jen Froeschle have played a major role in supporting their male athletes and encouraging both boys and girls to give tennis a try. Coach Small teaches middle school P.E at Central DeWitt. Coach Froeschle is a 7th grade social studies teacher.  “Coach Small and Coach Froeschle are very impactful to us. They show up with a positive attitude and encourage us to do our very best”. Schneider said about his tennis coaches. He goes on to explain some advice they’ve given that has helped him the most is getting up close to the net as much as possible and split step.  A split step in tennis terms is a hop players use before an opponent strikes the ball to reset their balance and spring instantly in any direction. 

As Schneider and the rest of the team get ready to compete amongst the best of the best in the Class 1A State Tournament, there is one more factor he believes has made the 2026 team so special: the people. “The people we have in our tennis program give us the spark we need. We have coaches who push us to be the best we can be. We have people outside the coaching staff helping restringing rackets or helping with strategies.” He gives a big shoutout to the entire DeWitt community. “The community coming to support us during big meets makes a huge difference and is one of the reasons we made it to State. Their support matters a lot and it’s great we have such a wonderful community.” Central DeWitt’s tennis year can be described as a first of many. It included firsts for the boys and girls teams. It’s the first time in school history both boys and girls sent a Doubles match to the state tournament and it’s the first time both teams will compete at State the same season. For seniors Froeschle, Krukow, Noah Erickson and Schneider, their tennis career is almost at its end. They will head to Pella with hopes of playing good tennis and supporting their teammates. Schneider offers a final piece of advice towards the end of his interview. “I hope future tennis players can learn that hard work can take you far not just in tennis, but in life as well. If you work hard, you will see good results.”