Ansbach's Jack Lovallo hits a ball during a singles match against Vilseck's Steven Harker on Sept. 23, 2023, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – Ansbach’s Meredith Maxwell has tackled the best DODEA European tennis has to offer many times during her career.

Before, she had been on her own.

When she stepped out onto the court on Saturday at Kaiserslautern High School, though, the junior entered with a doubles partner in Elizabeth Agudzi-Addo to face defending European champions Abby Hover and Alisa Dietzel.

“The first difference is more matches, of course, but it’s also the feeling of being a part of a team,” Maxwell said of playing doubles. “Having friends and the camaraderie is so amazing.”

That feeling couldn’t be further away from her first two years as a Cougar.

In fact, Maxwell’s freshman year saw her compete as an independent, while her sophomore campaign she gained a teammate in Bobby Lovallo.

Those two were the only ones expected on the roster as Maxwell’s mother, Christine, became a sponsor to help them should either qualify for the European tournament, which Meredith already accomplished twice.

Little did Christine know how quickly things were to change once school started. With practices came two more players. A week later, another two joined. Before she knew it, Christine had a roster of 10 athletes and her role switched from sponsor to coach.

The Cougars are operating without a budget, as a team wasn’t supposed to exist. They didn’t have uniforms and don’t officially supply rackets. So, the team has had to get creative.

They now sport T-shirts with names and numbers on the back, uncharacteristic for the sport. Ansbach teachers have lent a few rackets.

“In the last four weeks, we have pulled something really special together,” Christine Maxwell said. “We have something really unique with these kids, and I think for them it’s really exciting.”

Ansbach's Meredith Maxwell stretches for a ball during a match against Kaiserslautern's Abby Hover on Sept. 23, 2023, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslutern, Germny. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Ansbach's Elizabeth Agudzi-Addo moves to hit a ball during a singles match against Raider Alisa Dietzel on Sept. 23, 2023, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslauern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

The results aren’t always there, as shown Saturday at Kaiserslautern. The Raiders blanked the Cougars in the boys and girls matches 7-0 and 6-0, while the boys lost 5-2 to Vilseck.

The girls did manage to beat the Falcons, 4-2. Meredith defeated Iliana Ramirz by default, Agudzi-Addo – in her first set of matches for the Cougars in the No. 2 singles slot – beat Ryen Arguello 8-0, Sarah Felice won over Luz Pasillas 8-2 and Felice and Waverly Tenouye won the No. 2 doubles match over Arguello and Pasillas 8-5.

But that hasn’t dulled the Ansbach players’ excitement, nor the closeness of the group.

“Since our school is already small, we already know each other,” Meredith said. “Being a part of team, it’s grown our bond even more.”

Along with the girls team victory over Vilseck, they had other positive results. Maxwell and Agudzi-Addo went three sets against the Falcons’ Zoe Crawford and Ramirez in their first match, and the duo managed to take two games against Hover and Dietzel in a 6-0, 6-2 loss in the later match.

The excitement they shared after each point was palpable.

Vilseck's Cameron Holloway slides to hit a ball during a singles match on Sept. 23, 2023, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Raider Jace Martin serves during a singles match against Ansbach's Bobby Lovello on Sept. 23, 2023, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

On the boys side, the top doubles team of Bobby and Jack Lovallo pushed Vilseck’s Cameron Holloway and Steven Harker to a third-set tiebreaker. They lost 6-1, 4-6, 11-9 and had a match point.

Jack was one of the first to join at the beginning of the season, and the brothers have grown with each match en route to a 3-3 record. The last loss to even their record was a default against Kaiserslautern on Saturday as Bobby struggled with a cast on his right arm.

“It’s not too heated,” Bobby said of playing with his brother. “Sometimes we’ll get mad at each other if we make a mistake, but I think we’re all good.

“It’s fun. I think we can pull through when it counts.”

Meredith Maxwell and the Lovallo brothers are the Cougars’ best hopes for qualifying for the tournament this year. Their coach admits it will be difficult with just 10 singles players and 10 doubles pairs making the end-of-year event for the boys and girls.

Still, the resurrection of the Ansbach program could be the start of something more, Christine Maxwell said. In fact, with just two seniors on the team in No. 4 boys singles player Owen Schuettpelz and Tenouye, the coach expressed her hope that even more than 10 will represent the school on the courts next fall.

“Our team might even grow bigger,” Christine Maxwell said. “We just started something really special. This year is just a building block for them.”

By that time, they will be decked out in actual uniforms.

Raider Bryan Oh lifts a looping shot during a singles match on Sept. 23, 2023, at Kaiserslautern High School in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)