Elliana Bonilla, a freshman, played tennis for the first time on behalf of Struthers High School in the 2025-2026 season.
In her first year, she was able to secure a spot on the Struthers varsity tennis team. Last year, her math teacher inspired her to play tennis. Mr. McDivitt, or Coach McDivitt, has helped her take her first few steps into the sport.
The young student athlete admires her teacher, now coach.
“I started playing tennis because of him. I liked him a lot,” said Bonilla.
Not only did she play tennis, but also cheered. She has been cheering for almost her whole life and now plans to cheer and play tennis.
Bonilla is active throughout the year with multiple sports and many clubs.
“Cheer and tennis isn’t too hard to do. Sometimes things overlap, but overall, it’s two of the easier sports to do simultaneously,” says Bonilla.
She had started by playing doubles, and occasionally expedition matches. On game days, she treats it like a normal day trying not to stress over tennis, but once the match comes, tennis is in the center of her mind.
Bonilla gives her all for every tennis match.
“I treat my days like normal up until the match. Right before it, and during it all of my focus is on tennis,” says Bonilla.
She enjoys tennis for a variety of reasons, including teammates, coaches, etc. In the future, she plans to keep cheering while playing tennis and staying active in the Struthers community.
