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Athlete of the Week: Sarah Mackey
Sport: Girls tennis (singles, senior captain); Follow team @raidersgtennis/ on Instagram
When & how you got involved in tennis: Since I grew up watching my mom and older brother play tennis I started playing when I was 4, at my country club. I played tournaments throughout elementary and some of middle school but took a break to focus on basketball before 9th grade. I then returned to playing in high school, when I tried out in 9th grade, and have played all 4 years.
What you love most about tennis: I really enjoy getting to be outside during the spring with my teammates. I am so grateful to have the encouragement, support and love through the friendships I have made from the tennis team.
Pre-match routine: Listening, and singing, music with the team.
Top goal for this season: To win the state championship (again).
Thoughts about this year’s team: Not only do we have amazing talent on the team but we also have great team chemistry. It is easy to say that I am friends with my teammates on and off the court. This makes coming to practices and matches every day super fun. By being such a cohesive group we have found so much success and I think it all comes down to how we all love and support one another.
An accomplishment that you’re especially proud of: I am super proud of our State Championship win last year. We were the underdogs coming into the semi-finals as the 4th seed and we were able to prove everyone wrong and win.
An inspiring story related to your involvement in tennis/this team: During my freshman year I was thinking about playing softball because a bunch of my friends were playing. However, my parents told me I had to choose between golf and tennis, because I had little to no experience in softball. I ended up choosing tennis because I wasn’t very good at golf. It ended up being the best decision I ever made because I made so many friends and memories through this sport.
Interests outside of tennis: In school I really like psychology and ceramics. In psychology I have learned so many new things about the way our brains work and it has taught me so many things about myself that I didn’t know before. I also really enjoy ceramics, being a part of the intensive ceramics class at Wellesley, because I am able to channel my creativity into my work. Outside of school and sports I really enjoy hanging out with friends, traveling, and coaching tennis at a local tennis camp.
What other sports do you play, if any? I run cross country and play basketball for Wellesley.
Coach Rob Miller on Sarah Mackey: “Sarah is undefeated at her third singles position. In recent play, she won her matches in straight sets. She beat the third singles player from Needham, 6-4, 6-1. Then Sarah defeated her opponent from Westborough 6-0, 6-0. Both Needham and Westborough are in the top 10 in Power Ranking. So far Sarah has played and won when playing first, second, and third singles. She has been an outstanding captain leading the team on and off the court and is a three-sport athlete.”
Athlete of the Week: Ellias Lukic
Sport: Boys tennis (singles, junior); Follow team @wellesleyboystennis on Instagram
When & how you got involved in tennis: My dad played tennis and got me to start playing when I was eight years old.
What you love most about tennis: My favorite part about tennis is the strategy involved and the fact that everything is in your control to win each point.
Pre-match routine: I always make sure to eat a snack before a match and listen to good music to get me pumped up.
Top goal for this season: My top goal is to just get better and help my team as much as I can in the playoffs.
Thoughts about this year’s team: We’ve gotten a lot better this season and defied our expectations for how good we can play.
An accomplishment that you’re especially proud of: I went from starting the season at second doubles to playing second singles.
An inspiring story related to your involvement in tennis/this team: Coach Katie (Sullivan) makes everyone laugh.
Interests outside of tennis: Playing basketball with friends, watching sports, playing video games.
What other sports do you play, if any? I like to ski.
Coach Mike Sabin on Ellias Lukic: “Ellias currently plays 2nd singles for us. He lost challenge matches in March that initially put him in doubles for the first few matches. He performed well, partnered with fellow junior Deniz Eryilmaz. After we had some tough results as a team, we had a couple more challenge matches near the end of April and this time Ellias won the match that put him 2nd on the team’s ladder. He almost won a very close match at Needham, a much closer result than our first match against them. Then he won an important match vs. Westborough which helped us clinch an important victory against a higher rated team. Due to our win that day, we moved up in the state rankings 2 spots to 12th.
(Athletes of the Week are nominated by their coaches.)
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