Tennis seniors play final home match of their careers

FREMONT – More than a week remains in the girls tennis team’s regular season, but the Lady Giants’ seniors played the final home match of their careers Thursday afternoon.

While the result was less-than-ideal, a 5-0 sweep at the hands of defending league champion Toledo Central Catholic, it can’t compare with the lessons learned and the experiences gained by the seniors in their time on the court.

“It’s bittersweet,” Mallory Hutton said of her final home match. “I’ve been a part of this team since I was a freshman. There have been lots of ups and downs but I love tennis, I love this team. It’s really sad to play the last match because you never want it to end, but it has to sometime.”

The seniors were recognized in small ceremony with family, friends and their teammates. The beginning of the end for a group of girls that have become as much family as a team.

“It’s sad. It’s really sad,” Natalie Brown said. “I’m going to miss tennis so much, my teammates and how far we’ve grown together.”

Olivia Henry began playing as a freshman with little knowledge of the game. Learning the sport and crafting her technique, in four years she rose to play the No. 1 singles position for much of her senior season.

“It’s definitely the only thing I’ll miss from high school,” Henry said.

“I started out never even knowing what tennis was. I thought it was going to be easy,” she said. “I played and it was awful and I was terrible but I worked and worked at it and my parents told me to keep trying. Pretty soon it was something I wanted so bad that I started progressing and doing better.”

Jurni Kidd joined the team as a sophomore but didn’t play in her first varsity match until the fourth duel match of this season. Kidd’s perseverance and work ethic is something Ross tennis coach Lisa Wolfe will be telling to future generations of Lady Giants.

“Years from now I will be mentioning Jurni’s name. I have done that with several throughout the years who have stood out and did something very special,” Wolfe said. “That’s why you never take anything for granted because coaches are always watching, no matter where you play. She rose to the occasion of being a varsity player very quickly.”

Kidd said being on varsity, and taking part in the team’s two doubles tournaments, the Perkins Pirate Invitational and Ross’ own Michaels Memorial Tournament, are experiences she’ll always look back fondly upon.

“Those stick out for me,” Kidd said. “The years before, I didn’t get invited to those things, so it was an honor to be there my senior year.”

Ending the home season against a league opponent, unfortunately tied Wolfe’s hands. Needing to play her conference lineup for seeding purposes for this weekend’s TRAC tournament, Brown and Taylor Sachs did not play in the varsity lineup nor did Central Catholic bring its JV team Thursday.

While Sachs wasn’t a regular in the varsity lineup, Wolfe recognized her for quiet leadership on the court.

“I don’t have to ask her to do anything, she’s almost thinking my thoughts,” Wolfe said. “If there are stray balls laying on the court, she’s already going after them when it’s time to pick up.  When we’re picking up after a match, she’s the one collecting everything. She is a silent leader. She is very quiet and very comical with her dry sense of humor. She does everything right.”

Sachs, who was a cheerleader her freshman and sophomore years before joining the team her junior year, said she regrets not joining the tennis team sooner.

“The first year I was trying to get familiar with the team, I knew a few people,” Sachs said. “This year we really grew into a bond, we had an over-nighter and learned more and more about each other. Now, as seniors, we’re not going to have this next year and it just hasn’t fazed me yet. Next year, at this time, I’m going to think about this and have happy memories.”