WAPAKONETA — Wapakoneta’s Madison Watt began playing tennis competitively about four years ago, but in that relatively short time the Redskin netter has become one of the most accomplished players in school history.
The standout senior netter will put the finishing touches on an impressive high school career when she competes in the Division II singles state tournament Friday at the Linder Family Tennis Center in Mason.
Last year, Watt made school history when she and Hannah Lee qualified as the first Redskins girls doubles team to make it to state, and now she is only the second girl in Wapakoneta history to make it as a singles player. Brigit Olson was the last Redskin girls singles player to qualify for state in 1981.
Watt attributes her successful tennis run to practicing countless hours during the off season and continually working hard to improve.
Watt’s strong work ethic paid off this year by winning the WBL first singles title and the sectional singles title.
Playing stiffer competition, Watt was truly tested for the first time this year at districts this past weekend but grinded out two wins on the first day of the tournament to punch her ticket to state. She finished fourth overall at district.
“It was difficult,” said Watt about competing at districts. “The girls that I was placed with were really good players. At state it is going to be just as difficult.”
Redskin head coach Jason Johnson said the competition at districts was some of the best in the Ohio and it will only get tougher at state. Watt’s first opponent is Shaker Heights Hathaway Brown’s Lauren Gillinov, the No. 1 seed out of the Northeast District and a two-time defending state champion.
Johnson said Watt got a taste of what to expect when she competed last year in the state doubles tournament and understands the top notch level she will face at state this year.
The Redskin head coach said that this week they have been preparing by reinforcing the fundamentals and working on improving her strength because she is going to face players that have more power to their games.
“They also do a great job of placing the ball in the court as well so we’ve been working on that,” Johnson said. “We have been working on cutting down the angles and doing shorter points and not getting stuck in long rallies where she could end up on top before but now with stiffer competition it is much harder to come up on top with those types of rallies.”
Johnson said he expects her to do well and even if she does not garner a state title he is proud of what she has accomplished.
“To qualify for state two years in a row back-to-back says a lot,” Johnson said. “She has only been playing for four years and that shows the caliber of player she is.”
Watt has no expectations of how she is going to compete or finish.
“My goal was to make it to state so now I am just going to try my hardest and do my best.” Watt said. “It is awesome to know all my hard work paid off.”
.neFileBlock {
margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
padding-bottom: 5px;
padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
font-size: 85%;
}
