State Champ Koloski Glad To Be A Gladiator

Story by Camille LeDuc

Mina Koloski knows these courts like the back of her hand. So many backhands and forehands executed here. She's grown up on these courts. Retracing each step over and over for almost a decade.

It wasn’t until 2024 she officially became a Gladiator. But she'd already won many matches on the tennis courts at Chabot. That’s a big reason why not much changed once she put on the black and gold. After accomplishing so much in her freshman season, she could have transferred. Many would have.

But Koloski, a Las Lomas High graduate, stayed. She had different plans.

“I wasn't ready to leave,” she said in a phone interview. “I wanted to get better here. Getting this extra year, I just wanted to improve my ranking”.

Koloski, a 20-year-old sophomore, is home at Chabot. It’s why she chose to return for her second season as a Gladiator. When you’re the JUCO state champion in women’s singles, the options to transfer come with it. They did for Koloski. But she said wants to stay local in her soon-approaching, next-level tennis endeavors.

“Ideally a UC or a strong state school with a really competitive program,” she said of her preference for transferring. “Not going to say any one specific school.”

But this school, at this time, feels too right. Chabot was never a pitstop for Koloski. It’s where she’s grown roots. At 11 years old, she began her own competitive expedition at the Chabot Tennis Academy. That’s why Chabot wasn’t a fallback plan for Koloski. It’s too familiar.

She stayed to refine her game, strengthen her mental toughness and build a foundation that can combat the demands of higher-level competition at the next level. She stayed to win. More.

So every practice, every match and every extra hour on the court is fueled by her appreciation for Chabot and its role in her plans for the next stage of her tennis career.

As a result, Chabot women’s tennis gets another year with one of the best players in the nation. After going 20-0 in singles last season and 18-1 in doubles, Koloski leads the Gladiators’ push to make the playoffs. With five freshmen on their seven-women squad, Koloski’s experience will be pivotal.

Chabot — which finished 8-8 last season, including 6-6 in Coast Conference — is off to a 4-0 start.

It’s the women’s team’s longest winning streak in three years. And Koloski is a crucial part to the success. She is 2-0 in singles and 7-0 in doubles this season.

“She's about a 9 (Universal Tennis Rating) now,” head coach Richard Morris said about Koloski. "Which is really good for JUCO level. Division I looks around the 9-10 level to continue playing at the four-year level.”

Koloski also thrived at Las Lomas High, including advancing to the North Coast Section 2021 Girls Division I semifinals and taking third place. She also took fourth at NCS in 2023.

Koloski mainly practices with the Chabot’s men’s team. She hits harder and competes higher. The Academy’s forte is reps, not the common conditioning most athletes experience. It’s real matches at every practice for Koloski.

But the men's team keeps her on her toes. They hit with variety. They hit harder and command more from her on the court. Koloski’s ability to rise to that challenge has been years in the making.

She said a tennis racket’s been in her hand since birth. It was placed by her mother, who played competitive tennis in Japan. Growing up with someone who knows the game gave Koloski the utmost support in her first home as well.

She said she was never pressured to live up to her mother’s standard. Instead, she was told that her own standards were enough. And they are.

“She has definitely helped my development a ton,” Koloski said. “She always believed in my potential. Just to always keep trying and if I have a goal and keep working towards it I'm gonna get there.”

She got there, all right, when she won the JUCO State Championship. She wants to win again this season before she transfers.

For any athlete in competition, especially in the sport they hope to make their future, the mental battles are just as significant as their talent. That’s especially true in a solo sport such as tennis. No teammates can lift them up through rough patches.

Never focusing too much on her mistakes or missed opportunities, Koloski shifts her energy towards how to fix her shortcomings. And fix them quickly.

“I wish I knew it just feels so natural,” she said. “I try to find solutions to every problem. I don’t know, I've been doing it this for so long, there's always a way out of it.”

Athletes are either lucky enough to be born with a positive mindset, or take years training themselves not to crack under the pressure. In Koloski’s case it's the former.

Her coach said she never has a problem remaining optimistic. He said he’s never even seen her struggle with keeping her energy up.

“I don't experience that negative type of persona with her,” Morris said. “There's not much that I can point to. She just comes out and likes to work and practice. She's always like, ‘Yes. Okay. I’ll do that. That's fine. Yes.’ She doesn't complain. She doesn't get negative.”

Maybe because playing here, this game, at this place, with these people, it brings Koloski a peace that nothing can disrupt.