NATCHEZ — Natchez High School’s Monterro Bouldin and Cathedral School’s Dwain Perkins have a lot in common.

Both are soccer players for their respective schools, and both use soccer as a means of keeping themselves in good shape for their favorite sport — tennis.

Both 17-year-olds are seniors that have tasted success as varsity tennis players. Perkins and teammate Luke Whitaker won the MHSAA-1A No. 2 Boys Doubles State Championship last season, while Bouldin has won two tournaments in his career and qualified for the state tournament his ninth-grade season. Perkins and Bouldin also hope their high-school successes will lead to opportunities to play their favorite sport in college.

And with the first serve of high-school tennis season less than two weeks away, both players are learning that they will share at least one more similarity as the season progresses.

City of Natchez Tennis Director Henry Harris said both players will be the No. 1 boys player on their respective teams, and both will perform crucial roles this season.

“(Perkins) is the top boy on the team,” Harris said. “If (Cathedral) is going to win state, it’s going to be on his racket. He will play every position the boys play.

“With (Bouldin) it’s the same thing. He will play just about every boys’ position.”

Perkins said he is taking on the role of senior leader, which is important because the Cathedral boys’ team features a lot of young players.

“We’ve got some new boys,” Perkins said. “They are middle schoolers. They are doing pretty good. They just have to get used to (varsity tennis).

“(My job) is to lead the team and show them how to play and show them that we still want to win.”

Perkins said despite the youth on the boys’ side, the Green Wave returns some experienced female players, and he expects this team to win the state title.

The Green Wave tennis team has been working to prepare for its first match during the first week of March, and Perkins said he is anxious about starting the season.

“I’m very excited,” he said. “I’ve been practicing every day.”

Perkins said his focus during practice is to improve his fitness, because he feels like everything else is in place for him to have a successful season.

He also said playing soccer this season helped him in that area.

“It’s good for fitness,” he said. “It helped my cardio and my footwork.”

Harris said Perkins’ biggest strengths are his serve and his forehand.

Bouldin’s individual goal this season is to get back to the state tournament, he said. He qualified for state his ninth-grade season, but he said he has fallen just short the past two years.

“I plan on winning district (this year),” he said.

Bouldin said he is also a leader for the Bulldogs’ tennis team, and he likes to lead by example.

“I lead all our stretching activities and start off first (on drills),” he said. “I have to start it off and call out what to do.”

Bouldin said he has been a tennis fan most of his life, and he started wanting to play after watching Venus and Serena Williams play on TV.

“(Tennis) is a fun, calm sport,” he said.

Bouldin is a drum major for the Natchez High band as well as a soccer and tennis player. But Bouldin said he would rather be on the court with a racket in his hand than on the soccer field with a ball on his feet.

“Tennis is definitely my favorite (sport),” he said. “Soccer gets me in shape.”

Bouldin said the Bulldogs only had one player make it to the state tournament last season, but he hopes to get at least five this year.

Bouldin said he knows he will play an important role in helping Natchez reach its tennis goals, and he stays at the Duncan Park tennis facility until 7:30 or 8 each night to work on his game.

He said he needs work on his serve, and his athleticism is what gives him an advantage over most of his opponents.

Neither senior player said they knew where they would attend college next year, but both hope that their college careers include tennis.