Game, Set, Match!
Students name senior Naeley Torline girls’ tennis MVP in a Twitter poll
November 5, 2019
After qualifying for the state tournament, senior Naeley Torline is preparing for her final matches representing Northwest. Torline set goals for her senior year and worked to improve on her performances throughout the season. She wants to end her high school career on a high note.
“This is my fourth year on the school team, but I hadn’t really played competitively before that,” Torline said. “I had always just played for fun.”
Torline played on the JV level her first two seasons and has been playing on varsity for the past two seasons. Torline enjoys the competitive aspects of the game and sees it as a great way to relax.
“Tennis is a good stress reliever,” Torline said. “It is really fun to play.”
Tennis has a deep connection with the Torline family. Tennis was introduced to Torline as a way to have fun with her family, growing into Torline’s love of the sport. Torline’s uncle was a big part of the family influence.
“We would have family get-togethers where we played tennis just for fun,” Torline said.
She is very particular about the brand of shoes she wears and the equipment she uses. The brand she uses carries a feeling of comfort for her and a competitive edge when she’s on the court.
“I have worn several brands of tennis shoes and my favorite brand of tennis shoes, hands down, is Nike,” Torline said. “They are the most comfortable, by far, on the court. Head is my favorite brand of tennis racquet. It is light and easy to handle.”
The tennis program has grown exponentially from past years.
“Because of the size of the team, we have been playing a lot more tournaments this year,” Torline said. “We have so many girls on the team and we want them to all have a chance to play. It has given us all more experience in tournaments and, ultimately, has made us better players.”
Torline really enjoys the family feeling on the tennis team and has all of her teammates supporting her and cheer her on. Which gives her great motivation to her for this season. She feels like everyone has worked really hard this year and hopes everyone is successful.
“This season is going really good,” Torline said. “My doubles partner and I are playing a lot better and picking up more wins than last year.”
Coach Robin Sutton is new to the program this year. Sutton has had the team doing a lot more conditioning this year. Torline believes that the conditioning will lead to more success for her and the team. Torline when the team gets stronger off the court they will have a stronger performance when it comes down to go time on the court.
“In a match the other players from the other team have really good shots,” Torline said. “Conditioning helps us to be able to get to those different types of shots in the matches.”
Torline thinks the season has gone very well. Torline and her teammates and have been playing really well together as a unit on the court. Torline believes that along with her improvement, the whole team is getting better.
“We just got third place at the Invitational Tournament,” Torline said. “I think the team as a whole is doing well and the program is getting stronger.”
Torline has finished up her season with placing eighth with her partner at state. Although Torline will hang up her competitive racquet after this year, she plans to continue to play tennis for enjoyment.
