Anika Umapathya
What activities do you do other than your sport?
“I do Humane Society and volunteer as an art teacher at a nursing home and a dog shelter.”
How long have you been playing your sport and why did you start?
“Four years, I started freshman year.”
How have your coaches impacted you?
“The coach we had my freshman year made sure tennis was super fun, even for the people who did not know how to play. I think he is one of the reasons I stuck with the sport until now.”
Do you plan to continue playing your sport in college and in what capacity?
“No.”
What is your proudest achievement playing your sport?
“Winning my match against King Philip High School after almost two and a half hours and getting my team new jerseys.”
What are your goals for the season?
“To do more team bonding and try to be more productive during practice.”
What is your favorite memory on the team?
“Going to the zoo during a playoff game freshman year!”
What advice do you have to people considering joining your sport?
“If you have never played a sport before or even if you have and just want to try something new, tennis is a good choice. It is easy to feel included because there is not a big separation between varsity and junior varsity. There are no cuts and since a lot of the girls are new to the sport, you will not feel like you’re behind everyone else. It is also very social and the practices are less intense than other teams at Walpole High School.”
Isabelle Healey
What activities do you do other than your sport?
“National Art Honors Society, Art Club, French Club and most likely National Honors Society as well.”
How long have you been playing your sport and why did you start?
“I started playing my freshman year, because it seemed like a good way to meet new people and spend time with my friends who were doing it.”
How have your coaches impacted you?
“We have had different coaches each year I’ve played unfortunately, but our coach last year was very supportive, approachable and fun to talk to. She pushed me to take lessons over the course of the winter, which I enjoyed doing.”
Do you plan to continue playing your sport in college and in what capacity?
“I might, but only recreationally or for fun. I think tennis is a good sport to know because it’s accessible for many.”
What is your proudest achievement playing your sport?
“Playing varsity doubles last year, only my second season playing.”
What are your goals for the season?
“To create a positive team environment and to help the team feel more connected by planning team dinners and activities.”
What is your favorite memory on the team?
“Cheering on games my freshman year with others.”
What advice do you have to people considering joining your sport?
“If you want to do it, definitely go for it! Practices are fun and there’s a lot of opportunities to meet new people from other grades and to spend a lot of time together.”
Eleni Margetise
What activities do you do other than your sport?
“I work at Muffin House in Walpole, I love watching Survivor with my family and friends, I travel a lot with my family, I love hanging out with my friends, I go to a lot of sporting events, I like listening to music, country specifically and I like going to the beach.”
How long have you been playing your sport and why did you start?
“I have been playing tennis since I was in kindergarten and have played up until my senior year of high school, [so] I have been playing tennis for 13 years.”
How have your coaches impacted you?
“My coaches have impacted me in a variety of ways. Even though we’ve had various coaching changes since I started playing for Walpole, each one has affected me differently. My first coaches inspired me to be myself. Transitioning from middle school to high school is difficult for everyone and meeting a whole bunch of new people is overwhelming. But when I joined the team, my coaches and team accepted me for who I was and loved the amount of energy I brought to every match and practice. My second coach inspired me to be confident and as a junior and a captain at that stage, [it] was difficult. I stressed a lot with what would happen my senior year plus helping to lead the team alongside my senior captain, who was gone for a part of the season due to college visits, was difficult. So whenever I was anxious with leading the team as some players didn’t see me as a leader, my coach sat me down and told me to be confident in what I say and do. She helped me have a phenomenal season last year where I went 8-5 in singles to be on the Bay State All-Star Honorable Mention list. Now, going into my senior year and second year as captain, I take those two pieces to the court and off it in my personal life.”
Do you plan to continue playing your sport in college and in what capacity?
“Even though I do not plan to play at the college level after high school, I want to play club tennis for whatever university I attend.”
What is your proudest achievement playing your sport?
“Bay State All-Star Honorable Mention as a junior and junior and senior captain.”
What are your goals for the season?
“My goals for the season are to make the playoffs and help the newer girls with their skills. After not making the playoffs last year, I want to try and get this team into the postseason because I want them to experience the same feeling I did my first two years. Just being able to play teams that are some of the best in the division is a completely new experience from our league and even if we are near the bottom of the rankings, just having that opportunity is one of the best in my opinion to have as an underclassmen. This year we have a new group of girls who want to learn and get better at tennis which makes me so happy. It is so amazing to see. I want to help them in any way I can whether that is helping them with technique or just being a teammate they can talk to and trust with whatever they need.”
What is your favorite memory on the team?
“To be honest, I have a lot of favorite memories from being on the team. When I was an underclassmen, we would play music on the bus to away games and some of my teammates and I would play charades to pass the time. Last year, on one of our bus rides, my teammate and I sang “Before He Cheats” by Carrie Underwood after one of our losses to try to get the team’s spirits up. I am happy to report we saw some smiling faces and some concerned looks after we finished which made us happy. This year, another one of my teammates and I beat our coach in pickle ball during a rainy day practice which was so fun. But one I will hold close to my heart is my first ever singles win against Framingham in second singles. After a few losses in singles, I was so happy to finally have a victory, especially because the match before I went to a third set in first singles to a very good opponent in King Philip and lost. After the match I went over to my team and they congratulated me and then I ran over to my parents and they were so proud of me. Then after that win, I kept improving my record to be on the Bay State All-Star Honorable Mention list as a junior.”
What advice do you have to people considering joining your sport?
“Advice that I have for anyone considering joining the tennis team is to just trust the process. Something I heard from so many people is that tennis is a sport you can play for the rest of your life. Everyone starts somewhere with tennis and trying any sport for the first time is challenging in itself. But the reward at the end of the season is amazing because everyone I ever played with for Walpole improved as the season went on. Anyone can play tennis which I think makes it so different from other sports the high school offers and it’s so easy to learn, once you get the scoring down.”
