Richmond varsity girls tennis coach Zachary Baldauf will have an early opportunity to evaluate a young team before Missouri River Valley Conference-East Division play begins.

The Spartans will open Aug. 31 against Lincoln College Preparatory Academy at Maurice Roberts Park.

“Lincoln College Prep should be a tough matchup that I think will help provide the players a chance to see some good tennis played and help us see a level to try to match for the rest of the season,” said Baldauf.

Richmond returns only two letterwinners, senior Ava Bozarth and sophomore Kaeleigh Damron. Their experience will be particularly valuable on a roster featuring several newcomers.

Baldauf expects Bozarth and Damron to help lead the program because they are the two returning players with varsity tennis experience.

The process of developing the rest of the lineup began during the summer. With numerous new faces in the program, Baldauf used offseason workouts to introduce the fundamentals and give players a foundat…