New coach? No problem.

The Apple Valley boys’ tennis team is capitalizing on a plethora of matches, beginning the season 11-5-1 under first-year head coach Craig Raway.

The Eagles sit third in the South Suburban Conference with a 5-2 record, which includes a win over Eagan for the first time in seven years.

“[Beating Eagan] was big because it was a match where we definitely could have let things get away from us,” Raway said. “But we fought really hard when we had to…I think the team felt even better about the win knowing that we hadn’t beat a team from Eagan in a long time.”

A well-rounded squad has helped the Eagles’ start, with players in multiple spots contributing to the team score.

“We have good team chemistry,” said captain Paul Nesseth. “We’re all friends, so that helps.”

Apple Valley now enters crunch time, with section playoffs beginning next week.

“The late part of our schedule is definitely the toughest stretch,” said Raway. “The focus is to figure out how to turn that corner and get a couple of these tight individual matches to fall in our favor and maybe give us a chance to upset a team or two in the section tournament.”

The Eagles are in a new section this year, which includes top teams like Edina and Minneapolis Washburn. They know it will be a challenge, but a playoff run is their goal.

“We’d like to win a couple of rounds in sections,” Nesseth said.

As they hit the home stretch, the Eagles look to continue strong play across the board. Led by senior captains Nesseth and Frank Kelly, a return to the section semifinals is a possibility, even in a tougher section.

“We know that in most team matches, winning or losing probably keys on a couple of our spots,” Raway said. “From the start of the season through now, they have continued to get better.”

Getting better is the goal, and the Eagles have certainly done that this year.

Not bad for a first year coach.