Morgan Howard is a junior student who plays second doubles for the Struthers High School tennis team. She has been playing since her freshman year of high school and also participated in the clinics during middle school.
Howard feels that winning a match is super rewarding; her and her partner try their best, so it’s nice to see it work out in the end. Losing a match can be extremely frustrating for her; however, it can be a very nice motivation for her to continue getting better.
Her best achievement from her junior season was the fightback her and her partner made during a home match.
“My biggest accomplishment would probably be this past year’s home match against Lakeview. We lost our first set pretty badly but made a comeback in our second. We won the second set which led us to a third, and we just barely won overall,” says Howard.
The best part of tennis for Howard is having her close friends on the team; it was enjoyable for her to see them every day at practice. The coaches, Barth and Micdivitt, aren’t very strict either, which Howard enjoyed.
Howard’s disappointment is shown when they lose a match, specifically when the team advanced so far.
“[The worst part is] when you’re trying your hardest in a match but it’s not good enough. Especially during Sectionals, we made it to the second round and started off winning, but it was too much and started going downhill,” says Howard.
Howard is very upset that she has her final season of tennis next year. This sport is something she truly grew to love over the last couple of years. However, she’s very ready to see what the future holds for the team and what the team can accomplish.
Howard’s motivated to continue tennis because of her love of the people around her, teammates and the leadership.
“I really love everyone on the team and our coaches; it’s just a fun environment to be in,” says Howard.
With senior year approaching, Howard is excited for what it’s going to bring. She is sad it will be her last time with her friends, but she has many goals. The main goal for her is to continue progressing and make it further in sectionals. Howard is unsure where she wants to attend college, but she knows she wants to go for forensic science. Her current college options do not offer tennis teams, so she will play recreationally if no colleges end up having a team.
