This story is sponsored by: Williams-Gray Co.
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – Last year, Elizabeth Manlick did what not too many freshman players do – win a match at the WIAA State Individual Girls Tennis Tournament.
Manlick will get a chance this year to see if she can go even further than the second round as she takes to the courts starting Thursday at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison in a WIAA Division 2 first-round singles match.
Manlick (19-6) enters the tournament as a special qualifier and will take on another in Jenna Zimmerman (15-7), a freshman from Racine St. Catherine’s.
“I was hoping for it all year long (for a state tournament berth),” Manlick said. “All year, the whole team and I have been working on it. We haven’t been expecting it, I guess, we were hoping.”
Manlick started out strong from the start of the season, but has never stopped working hard.
“I was pretty happy, but I was trying to improve on everything,” Manlick said. “My serve and net play – I haven’t usually played up there, so I’ve been working on it all year.”
During practice Tuesday, Manlick was working on her patience. Her lack of it has cost her at times this season and coach Allyson Mayeux said they have been trying to dial things down a bit.
“Her freshman year she was successful with strength and speed,” Mayeaux said. “As she played tougher competition she realized that’s going to get her so far and she has start not trying to hit the winner with every shot. She has to be patient and let the point set up and then go for the winner.”
Should Manlick get to the second round again by winning her 7 p.m. match Thursday, she will face a tough test against the winner of the match between seeded Caroline McGuire (12-2), a senior from Whitefish Bay Dominican, and Sara Murphy (20-2), a sophomore from Madison Edgewood.
“It’s going to be hard,” Manlick said. “All of the girls are very good and I’ve played most of them this year.”
Check out MarshfieldAreaSports.com throughout the state tournament, which runs Thursday through Saturday, for updates on Manlick’s matches.