0 Shares

It’s a tactic North Thurston girls tennis coach Cheri Campbell likes to apply early in the season.

Instead of racquets, running takes center stage.

“We really try to condition a lot the first two weeks of practice,” Campbell said. “Part of it is to weed out the kids who don’t want to work.”

dental care of lacey atlasUsually it proves to be successful and the roster gets trimmed down by the time matches start up.

So, how did it go this year?

“We really didn’t have anyone quit,” said senior Kori Gonzales. “Normally, some people just end up not liking it.”

That wasn’t the case this season for the Rams, whose only team loss this year came to perennial 4A powerhouse Bellarmine (3-2) before going to capture the Narrows League 3A championship for the second time in four seasons.

north thurston tennis
Senior Ainsley Winterrowd, the Ram’s No. 1 singles, watches as a teammate practices. Winterrowd finished fifth at the 3A state tournament last year.

“I didn’t expect it to be this big, but it just continues to grow,” said Campbell, who is in her sixth season at North Thurston. “The players have done a lot of hard work to help build this program.”

According to Campbell, her team’s headcount usually hovers around 30 players – which is a strong number for a high school tennis team in itself, but with 56 names on the roster this year, a player could realistically compete against one teammate a day for the entire season and not face the same player twice on the court.

“I think it’s doubled from what we had my freshmen year,” junior Lucie Doran said. “I still can’t believe how many wanted to come out and play. It’s a no cut sport. Everyone gets a chance, so there’s no pressure if you want to come out and try. We have people from every skill level. By the end of the season you can see so much improvement from everyone because we have fantastic coaches all around.”

Playing a large role in the turnout was the Rams’ top singles player in senior Ainsley Winterrowd.

north thurston tennis
Junior Lucie Doran is pictured during practice. Doran teams up with senior Kori Gonzales on the Rams’ No. 1 doubles team.

“Ainsely was really instrumental in bringing other seniors on,” Campbell said. “She wanted to play with her friends so she got these other athletes to come out that weren’t tennis players, but they turned into tennis players.”

Winterrowd, during her freshman year, was one of three North Thurston players to advance to the state tournament – a rare accomplishment among high school tennis. After that season she added recruiter to her resume, rounding up as many classmates as possible to beef up the Rams lineup.

“It is so much different than when you play outside of school all by yourself. No one is cheering you on, but here you have the entire team supporting you,” Winterrowd said. “I think some people turned out not knowing what to expect and everyone just really enjoyed playing on this team. People were telling their friends how great it was so next year their friends wanted to come out and play. It just grew from there.”

north thurston tennis
Coach Cheri Campbell is excited about the prospects at the state tournament for the North Thurston High School girls tennis team.

Gonzales was one of those late bloomers who joined the team as a sophomore without any prior tennis experience.

“I really didn’t know what I was doing,” Gonzales said about beginnings with the team. “I had played other sports, but not tennis. That first year I was just trying to figure things out.”

Two years later and Gonzales teams up with Doran as the Rams’ No. 1 doubles.

“It’s fun to see people when they first start and then when they are out playing matches during the season,” Winterrowd said. “Before they couldn’t even hit a ball and now they are out there winning. It’s really great to see. I don’t know how it is at other schools, but here everyone really just has a good time. A large part of it is to definitely have fun. The tennis part comes later.”

Word certainly appears to be out regarding North Thurston tennis as 23 freshmen turned out this year – a number Campbell believes to be a program record for a single class.

“I put the word out, but a lot of them are freshmen this year,” Winterrowd said. “I think they heard how great our program is. We just kept getting more and more tennis players showing up.”

north thurston tennis
Coach Cheri Campbell talks with her players at a recent practice. Campbell has led the Rams to two league championships over the past four years.

Before she heads off to play at Metropolitan State University of Denver, Winterrowd will look to secure a fourth straight trip to the state tournament.

“I think we have a really good chance at sending a lot of people to state this year,” Winterrowd said. “Myself and Alison (Wood) and Kori and a couple of the people who went last year have a good shot. We are hoping to get a few more through so they can go and see what it’s like.”

A year ago Winterrowd finished fifth at the 3A tournament, losing her opening match before winning four consecutive matches, all 2-0, to pick up some hardware at the Tri City Court Club in Kamiakin.

“Ainsley has a great chance at going all the way this year. She is the hardest working kid that I know,” Campbell said. “She’s been great to coach – this entire team has. They are just really good kids. I feel very fortunate that I get to coach them.”

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
0 Shares