Warren Central tennis coach Rick Shields felt his Vikings would be better this season. Tuesday’s 3-2 match win over St. Aloysius at Halls Ferry Park appears to justify Shields’ prediction.

&#8220I think we’re a better team this year than last year and the proof is, we beat St. Al,” Shields said.

The Flashes edged the Vikings in last year’s dual match by a 3-2 score.

&#8220We lost by the same score last year, but this time we won and St. Al has pretty much the same team they had last year,” Shields said.

The WC coach said the Vikings have made improvements with all three doubles teams.

&#8220Our mixed doubles team of Seth Hudspeth and Kerrie-Taylor Leech has played really well, even though they did get beat today,” Shields said.

That’s because the WC pair ran into the defending Class 1A mixed doubles champions in Bonney Neill and Jeremy White. St. Al may be 0-3 as a team on the season, but Neill and White are unbeaten against all 5A competition.

&#8220Our team tends to start off each season slow but then we end with a crescendo by the state tournament,” St. Al coach Leonard Banks said. &#8220We’ll find out what the future holds for this team in the next few matches.”

The Flashes, who have also fallen in dual matches to Vicksburg and Northwest Rankin, face 1A challenger East Webster on Saturday and then meet the Mississippi School for the Deaf, Madison St. Joe and defending 1A team champ Natchez Cathedral next week.

Shields says his team must gain early confidence because they will face a much tougher division with the addition of Madison Central.

&#8220This district is tougher because we move in with Madison Central. Vicksburg also has a better team that last year,” Shields said. The Vikings take on the Gators on April 6 at Halls Ferry.

A key for the Vikings will be the play of its girls doubles team of Caitlyn Shelton and Mary Clare Scurria. The team beat St. Al’s Alex Cowart and Sarah Marcus 6-3, 6-3 on Tuesday.

&#8220Caitlyn was our singles player last year but we’ve teamed her up with Mary Clare and that’s made for a better girls doubles team,” Shields said. &#8220I also feel that our boys doubles team is stronger.”

The Vikings’ pair of Tyler Wing and Steven Faulk beat St. Al’s Hardy Farris and Chris Guizerix 6-4, 6-1.

St. Al won the girls singles match with junior Lauren Fordice beating WC’s Jill Shirley 6-1, 6-1.

The deciding match came in boys singles where Nick Melby took advantage of the absence of St. Al’s Matt Jenkins to down Thomas Escousse 6-1, 6-1.

&#8220I think the score would’ve been different if Matthew had been here,” Banks said. Jenkins was visiting West Point, N.Y., where he has earned a commission to the United States Military Academy.