The AHS girls tennis season kicked off on January 25th and is still ongoing. The girls have been practicing every weekday they don’t have a match. Mrs. Ratledge, their coach, has been enjoying and extremely proud of this year’s season. “words cannot even begin to describe how proud I am of these girls. They have worked so hard, and it’s so rewarding for them to see their hard work pay off,” she said. The team consists of twelve players; five of them are extras. Leading up to the tournament, the girls team had only lost 1 match, which was against Fannin county. The team played their regional tournament on March 27-28th at the Rome Tennis Center (RTC). They walked away with second place, losing to Fannin county.
Kailyn Therber, a freshman doubles player, enjoyed this tournament and was extremely proud of the team. She said, “I typically prefer singles, but this year, I play doubles with Cara Mullins. We communicate well and work together mid matches.” Kailyn’s playing abilities have also improved throughout the season. Kailyn said, “focusing on top spin the ball and just being consistent with that and making the same motion over and over again has been a big help to me along with other rudiments.” The skills she focused on in practice allowed her to perform consistently and confidently on the days of the tournament. She celebrated with her brother and the boy tennis team when they all went to Los Portales for dinner.
Evey Flagello, one of the only freshmen on the varsity team, was also a player on the day of the tournament. She plays singles 1 line for the team and enjoys the independence it provides. She said, “I can depend on myself and focus on how I play.” Evey played 2 matches the first day of the tournament one against Dade county and the other against Christian Heritage. The score for Dade County was 6-0, 1-0. She was then pulled after playing, and winning, three matches. For Christian Heritage, the score was 6-3, 3-2 (she also got pulled). On the second day, the girls played Fannin County for the championship; Evey lost 0-6 0-6. For state, Evey said, “I am focusing on hitting consistent deep shots. The closer we get to state, the higher performing the teams are. Personally, I just want to play hard in my matches and work on perfecting my shots, no matter the outcome of the match.” She will focus on her individual playing abilities and rudimentary skills leading up to state tournaments.
Kennedy Falk, a sophomore on the team, plays doubles one with her sister. On the day of the tournaments, she was excited but also stressed, leaning heavily on her mental state while playing. She said, “My winning mindset is that I need to have confidence in myself to know how good I am, and to know how to beat my opponent.” Kennedy was proud of herself and her team this year and was constantly reminding herself that she could accomplish what she wanted to. She said, “I played well this season, improvement was definitely a part of my journey and I knew I couldn’t leave practice the same way I went in.” Kennedy focused on her playing abilities and improving specific things after every match she was in. On the days of the tournament, she played two matches on Thursday, which qualified them for championships on Friday. She noticed some inconsistencies with her serves, so that will be a focus with preparation for state.
Kileigh Barcomb, a senior on the team described her season as very relaxed and relatively easy. Kileigh said, “We had two great underclassmen come up to play our singles 1 and 2 lines, and since I was used to playing a higher line prior to, I have had fairly easy competition this season at 3.” She felt the team has had a great season and represents the Armuchee Tribe well. Kileigh did feel like this past tournament took a toll on the mental challenges in her game, which can ultimately affect her physical capabilities. She will be focusing on a winning mindset and remaining confident in her performance. She said, “My idea of a winning mindset is confidence. Tennis can be an extremely mental game, once you get down on yourself it’s hard to overcome that. You have to go into the game ready to play and hit your best shots, and don’t let one small mess up define your match. Be confident in the skill that you have.” While the tournament results were disappointing for her, she is excited for the state playoffs and is rooting for the team to go farther than ever before.
The girls high school tennis team will continue to work hard and diligently leading up to the state playoffs, allowing for improvement and determination. The girls are proud of their team and reported to be extremely excited for the challenges of state. Armuchee will continue to cheer on our girls tennis team as they advance!
