TMHS Girls Tennis Still In the Hunt

coach Mary MacDonald longs for the old days, when names like Connors and Evert and McEnroe and Navratilova were household words.

Back then, lots of kids came to high school having played and watched plenty of tennis growing up, and the job of a high school tennis coach was a lot easier.

"It's more a teaching job than a coaching job now," said MacDonald, who grew up in upstate New York and moved to Tewksbury 25 years ago. "We get 10-12 total raw beginners who come out for the team every year, so the emphasis is on teaching."

Fortunately for MacDonald, the girls she's coached since taking over the program four years ago have been eager and able learners. And fortunately for the girls, MacDonald works as a teaching pro at at Woburn Racquet Club when she's not coaching.

"I'm fortunate to be working with the most wonderful group of kids this year," MacDonald said. "They love playing tennis and they're willing to do what ever it takes to learn and get better."

Even though the team's current 2-9 record might suggest otherwise, MacDonald has seen great improvement in this year's team.

"We've lost four or five matches by 3-2 scores against teams that have beaten us 4-1 or 5-0 in the past," she said. "We've actually been very competitive."

Two juniors, April McDermott and Alyssa Mulno, have alternated between first singles and second singles.

"They're both in their third year on the team and they both work very hard," MacDonald said. "Alyssa had played some tennis before she came to the team but April came to us with no experience. They've both come a long way."

Freshman Kylie Sedgwick plays third singles.

"Kylie is a good athlete and she's really taken to the game," MacDonald said. "She thinks things out well, she's very tenacious and she's willing to play long points and stay out there. She's got a lot of the tools that singles play demands and I think she can go far."

Jordyn LeBlanc and Natasha Kuegler, also both juniors, play first doubles while Lindsey McQuesten and Meaghan Keene play second doubles. A total of 23 girls tried out for the team this year.

Thanks to the Sullivan Rule, Tewksbury is still in position to qualify for the state tournament if the Lady Redmen can win two important matches, against Lawrence and Notre Dame Academy, in the next two weeks. TMHS has a win over Lawrence and lost 3-2 to NDA earlier, so it will take a win over both teams to qualify.

"We got in based on the Sullivan Rule last year and lost a close match to Triton in the first round," MacDonald said. "I'd like to see this year's group get to experience (tournament play) too."

All seven of the above mentioned players will be competing in the individual state tournament this weekend in Lexington.

"The good news is that we're not losing anyone to graduation this year," MacDonald said. "Most of the girls are juniors, so if they keep working on their game, next year could be a real break out year for us."