When junior Bailey Kopisch came to the high school, there were many opportunities in front of her, but there was one thing that she set her focus on, tennis. Girls tennis is in season at the end of the school year, so when the time came around, Kopisch didn’t have a doubt in her mind that this was what she wanted to do.
This is Kopisch’s third year playing tennis. She took interest in the sport because her father used to play and she had a friend peak her appeal to it. She started playing the summer before her freshman year to prepare.
To ready herself for the season, Kopisch does several things.
“I usually take lessons. I play Intramural Basketball and sometimes I run around Heartwell Park,” Kopisch said.
Many sports typically have practice right after school, sometimes lasting as long as two hours, which can make life a bit busier for athletes.
“I wake up, go to school, then practice, and I go to work, and then I do my homework. Since Tennis started I have to go to work later and do my homework later,” Kopisch said.
At those after-school practices, the girls tennis players do many things to stay on track for a successful season.
“We start off with a mile run. Then we serve for about 15 minutes. From serving, we usually either get into some games or then we get into matches, singles, and doubles usually,” Kopisch said.
Also to prepare for matches, the girls take part in a few drills.
“We have drills and they’re fun. We work on footwork typically and mostly our forehand backhand serves,” Kopisch said.
When the time comes for a match, varsity tennis competes in both a doubles and singles match.
“On varsity, almost always, we play a double and then a single to pro sets of eight. JV either just does doubles or doubles and singles to pro sets of six,” Kopisch said.
In tennis, a doubles match consists of four athletes, two from each team on the same side while a singles match is one on one. Kopisch prefers a singles match but also sees the perks in doubles.
“Doubles is good when you have a really good partner and you’re able to be one on the court and just have fun with it. I like singles more because having the court to myself, I know the move I’m going to make and that’s all I really focus on,” Kopisch said.
Kopisch’s favorite part of playing tennis on the court for the Tigers is the people she is around every day.
“My favorite thing while on the court is setting up a really good forehand,” Kopisch said. “The team (is my favorite part), I like all the girls that play. We kind of just vibe together. As a team, we’re competitive against other teams, but together we’re a family,” Kopisch said.
The Girls Tennis team’s next match is against Columbus on April 10th at four p.m. at Hastings High.
