Team hopes to make a racket
Published 7:50 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008
The Mount Si girls’ tennis team looks to be a bit better this year. Veteran coach Sue Gallacher, who is in her ninth season as coach of the Wildcats, sees experience as being her team’s key. “For the first year on the varsity team, I think we’re a little bit deeper,” Gallacher said. That depth is led by returning seniors Alina Plavksy and Britta Safstrom, and sophomore phenom Erika Strine, who was Kingco’s top freshman last season.
Plavsky is looking for a lot of growth from her team. “I just expect a lot of growth from the younger people because we’re all going to rely on them to improve and to step up to the competitive level that our league plays on,” Plavsky said.
The themes for Gallacher’s team will continue to be teaching and skill development. Gallacher told the Valley Record that there are many on the junior varsity squad “that really haven’t picked up a racket.”
Among the newcomers on varsity this season are sophomore Rosie Lockie and junior Cortney Becker. Becker, who played on the Wildcat varsity girls’ soccer team last fall as they made that wonderful run to state, loves competing. “Well, tennis is a great sport and I love to play. My dad got me involved in it when I was little, and I’ve just been playing it ever since. I’ve been out here all three years, and so this is my first year on varsity,” Becker said.
The $75 athletic fee that was imposed on student athletes at the start of the school year is impacting the program for the first time. Gallacher is aware of the reasons for it, but finds the fee hard to swallow for her program. “I don’t know how it impacted the turnout. It’s tough for me because we pay for sweats and sweatshirts and T-shirts and pictures and stuff like that, and to add another 75 bucks. I totally understand it, though. Transportation costs have gone up, and I understand it,” said Gallacher.
Kingco 3A is a tough league, and Mount Si has always been at the bottom or close to it. However, even with the regulars of Newport, Bellevue and Mercer Island leading the preseason league title favorites list, Gallacher is still excited about the possibilities that lie ahead. “It’s going to be fun to see where we land, because I think we have a shot at winning some of the matches that we haven’t won in the past,” the coach said.
Becker is showing a lot of respect for her top teammates. “Well, Alina and Erika and the better players, they just inspire me to be better and pick up my game when it needs to be picked up, and they’re great, great teammates,” Becker said.
Becker, with her state tournament experience in soccer, also brings a championship perspective to the team that could be useful in this program. Becker offers this advice for players who want to think big and shoot for the top. “I would just say keep practicing and keep practicing and that’s what I did, and practice makes perfect,” she said.
How far do the players think they can go? Plavsky says anything is possible. “As far as we want to go, because it all depends on how hard we practice and how hard we all want to get to the top,” she said.
