Girls tennis: Bulldogs embrace unique Senior Day

OTTUMWA — It was a day that Leanna White certainly won’t forget.

After all, it’s the first Senior Day as a head coach that White actually picked up a racket and competed against her own players.

Besides getting a chance to honor nine players, many of whom White has been teaching for over a decade, the Ottumwa head girls tennis coach filled in along with assistant coach Laura Goemaat to take on two of her pupils. With Davis County senior Culee Smith still recovering from the heat of a three-set, two-hour battle with Bulldog senior Jordan Lee, Ottumwa’s top doubles team was in need of competition during a 9-0 win over the Mustangs.

While Lee and Madalynn Sertterh officially earned the win by forfeit, the Bulldogs found competition from their coaches. The result was another thrilling battle that featured a pair of tiebreakers, including a 10-8 super-tiebreaker won by White and Goemaat in a match that brought out the best in all four players.

“We were talking about it as we were playing. The girls were letting us know they were doing so much better than they did against us in practice,” White said. “That was good to see. They should be doing better and improving.”

The coach in White was happy to see the improvement from her top two players, especially less than a week before the Class 2A regional singles and doubles tournament at Iowa City West. The competitor in White, however, wasn’t about to let that improved play lead to a loss.

“I’m a very competitive person. It’s not in my DNA to let someone win,” White said. “I’m always going to put together my best effort. I don’t care if I’m 60 years old. I’m still going to be out there trying to win.”

It was an all-around emotional day for White, who returned to the court just a few hours after the 4-5, 4-1, 1-0 (10-8) doubles win to honor the entire close-knit group of OHS senior tennis players. Lee, Ava Barnes, Maleah Campbell, Giselle Cordova, Ashlyn Hough, Cidney Jeffery, Emerson Keith, Jenna Linsted, Jaslyn Parsypo and Ilana Vasconez make up the senior class that was honored before Ottumwa’s win over Burlington-Notre Dame completing a home triangular sweep completing the regular season with an impressive 10-1 dual record.

More than just the wins and losses have made the current group of Ottumwa senior tennis players special. White was able to barely make it through the introduction of many girls that have grown up with White as a teacher and a tennis coach.

“I have had Ava in tennis lessons since she was really young. Cidney was in summer tennis lessons with me for several years before we finally got her out to play during her junior year,” White said. “Some of these kids, I’ve known longer than I’ve known my own daughter.”

That statement brought out more emotion in White, who became a mother for the first time while she was teaching the current Ottumwa senior tennis players.

“It’s a huge realization right there just watching them grow up and seeing them all become wonderful young ladies,” White said. “It’s not just during the tennis season that I see these girls. Jordan and I play tennis together three times a week. Ilana was out here three days a week this summer working with us. I feel like I know this group not just as tennis players, but the young individuals that they’re turning into.”

Besides mentioning the moments that have stood out on the tennis court over the years, many of the Ottumwa seniors talked about their goals and aspirations for the years to come. It’s those type of lofty achievements that makes White proud of the players honored on Thursday.

“Jaslyn mentioned about working through being a positive person and having a positive mindset. She’s grown so much over the past four years,” White said. “For her to recognize that tennis goes beyond what you do on the court and knowing that she’s going to use some of those things that she learned in the sport from the future, that’s what it’s all about.

“My job is not to teach these girls tennis. It’s for them to have realizations like that. That is truly my job. To teach them lessons they can carry on into their lives.”