The Clearfield Area Jr. Sr. High girl’s tennis season has come to a close, with districts having been held on October 6^th. The team is led by Coach Spence, and their last hoorah was double’s districts in Dubois on Monday, October 10^th. One stand-out tennis player for this season is senior Lindsey Kerlin. Kerlin is this year’s number one tennis player on the team, and her accomplishments reflect that. She has been on the tennis team since freshman year and has played as number one since last year. Kerlin has been to the semi-finals in our district twice. Specifically, she got into the semi-finals during a tournament in St. Mary’s.

Kerlin climbed her way up as far as she could, showing persistence and determination during the St. Mary’s tournament. When asked how she made her way to the semi-finals, she answered, “I played 3 matches. The first one was against Johnsonburg, second was St. Mary’s, and the last was Punxy against Chloe Presloid. I lost to Chloe, it went to a tie breaker the first set, and the last set was 2:6.” Kerlin had a good shot at getting to finals, though it is clear that Punxy’s Presloid was an obstacle in her path.

Throughout the years, Kerlin has improved as a player, but every athlete has their strengths and weaknesses. As for Kerlin’s strengths, she states, “All of my fundamentals are very consistent, but I’ve been told that I excel in my backhand and forehand slices.” Having skills in the fundamentals of a sport are very important, but there are internal skills which Lindsey admits are her weakness. To elaborate, Kerlin adds, “In single sports, one of the only things that can lead you astray, is yourself. I think I struggle a bit with that myself. I can be confident in some ways but not in others.” The independence that Kerlin has playing singles can be equally beneficial and detrimental to her confidence, and that is an internal weakness that affects her outward performance.

Most athletes find excitement in competition, and that is Kerlin’s driving force in her efforts to make it to the top. She explains her passion and interest in tennis when she notes, “Tennis is a very competitive sport and mentally challenging. The only person who can get you down, is yourself. There can be times where nothing is working, not a forehand or a backhand, but you’ve just got to stay positive.” Despite challenges and doubts, Kerlin stays optimistic and pushes herself to perform the best she possibly can, and that is why she has gotten as far as she is. Even though she did not make it to the finals, Kerlin adds that she would like to enter more tournaments around the area.

Knowing what Kerlin contributes to the tennis team, her recognition is deserved. Looking back on the 2022 season and previous seasons, she notices that St. Mary’s and Punxsutawney have always been the tennis team’s biggest competitors. Fortunately, with the excitement of a challenge, Kerlin mentions that it is always fun to compete against the more competitive teams because the results are unknown. Beyond high school competition, she is hoping to continue playing tennis in college because she knows she will be doing something she loves. Above all, Kerlin is pleased to say that this year was her favorite year playing tennis, because the girl’s on the team this year got along so well, resulting in better performance than any previous year of Kerlin’s tennis career.