Layla Masena of New Heights Christian Academy is headed to the Class 1 individual state tournament in tennis for the second time in her high school career — as a sophomore.
During her freshman campaign, Masena won her first-round match before falling 2-0 to Clayton High School’s Julia Cramer in the quarterfinals. Masena and Cramer, now a senior, are set to face off in the sectional round at 9 a.m. Thursday.
“It’s not as exciting,” Masena said about seeing an opponent she had to face last year. “But I feel like it’s also nice because I have seen her before and I have played her game before so I know what her game is. It gives me an upper hand to know that.
“I did lose last year, but this year I’m excited and I’m going to come for the win.”
Masena and first-year head coach Kristin VenHuizen have a specific goal in mind. They’d like to reach the “top 5,” they said, which would require just one more win than she had last season.
Masena reached the quarterfinals before falling to Cramer last year. This time, she’ll have to win two matches to get past the quarterfinals and into the semifinals where just four players will be left fighting for a state championship in order to reach that top-five goal.
“My main goal is to have fun and just try to place higher this year,” Masena said. “I’m just so grateful and blessed that God has let me go back and that he’s given me this amazing gift to be able to play.”
“We both want to see her win matches, but I think just having fun and enjoying going to state — that is a privilege and not a lot of people get to go to state,” VenHuizen said.
If she defeats Cramer, her quarterfinal match will be later Thursday. Semifinals and finals are Friday.
It wasn’t just Masena who had success this year. The NHCA team finished the year with a 14-6 record and made it to the district semifinals before falling to No. 2 seed Carl Junction.
VenHuizen has been impressed with her team in the first year coaching them, knowing she had a lot of new players on the varsity team.
Two areas Masena believes she has improved is in her ball placement and that she’s gotten smarter on the court.
“Even from last year, I can see a big difference in my shot selection,” Masena said.
She sees the ball placement benefiting her by forcing her opponent to move around and “taking their legs away.”
Her head coach sees a relaxed demeanor while competing as an important part of Masena’s game.
“She has so much patience on the court. She’s so calm on the court. That’s just super impressive,” VenHuizen said.
Masena has a 23-1 individual record this year as a sophomore. She defeated every Joplin-area team’s No. 1 player that she went up against. Her lone defeat came against a player from a Kansas City-area school.
But her talent isn’t the only thing she believes benefits her on the court.
Rally cry
Masena has a rally cry that she uses before almost every match, but instead of a cry its a Bible verse. Before going into a rally with her opponent, she uses what she calls a “memory verse” to prepare for battle.
She will write a verse down on a piece of paper and then keep it with her in her pocket throughout her match or a tournament.
After she’s finished she will write down the date, location, her age and the performance results. She’s kept each of these in a box at home as little keepsakes of her tennis career.
“It definitely makes me stronger. When I’m struggling with something, I know that I can lean on God and he’ll always be there for me,” Masena said. “When I’m playing, I’ll repeat that Scripture over and over again.”
Her favorite verse and the one she has does most frequently: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” Philippians 4:13.
VanHuizen spoke on Masena’s faith as well as many players on her team, saying this: “It’s super inspiring. Feeling so old now on this side of tennis, I feel so old compared to them, watching how strong they (players) are in their faith is super encouraging to me.”
Masena considers the mental part of the game to be the most challenging, and these verses help to keep her mental focus where she wants it.
Background
Masena began playing tennis at the age of 5. She began by participating in an after-school program at Millennium Family Fitness. She’s been playing there since.
She’s also worked directly with the same coach since she was 5 — Marianella Padron.
“(Layla) wasn’t 100% sure if this was the sport for her. … As she got older, you can see how she understands by doing a little bit of work, having a game plan, she realized she can reach her goals or dreams,” Padron said. “It is important. Every single athlete should have short-term and long-term goals. An athlete without goals is like a car without gas. Or, nowadays, electricity.”
Masena has fueled those dreams and goals with more competition. She’s joined more groups at Millennium, including a women’s clinic in the summer and another group that competes Monday, Wednesday and Friday that is called “men’s power hour.” She competes with men in doubles matches.
She’s stuck with the game of tennis all these years because she loves the competitiveness. She enjoys the individual side as well as being able to be a part of a team.
“I love being a part of a team and getting to cheer them on and them cheer me on. They’re just so fun and amazing,” Masena said.
Padron has made it out to many games to watch the Cougars this year. She noted that self-confidence has been a big part of Masena’s growth.
“She knows how to compete. She knows how to win, she knows how to lose,” Padron said. “Every point counts because it does have a consequence.”
O que achou dessa notícia? Deixe um comentário abaixo e/ou compartilhe em suas redes sociais. Assim conseguiremos informar mais pessoas sobre o que acontece no mundo do tênis!
Esta notícia foi originalmente publicada em:
Fonte original