By Fancy Robbins
Seniors Brylee Beckley and Kelsey Vest have been standout players for Delta’s tennis team their whole career.
Now that chapter is coming to a close, but the lessons and memories they’ve made from tennis won’t be forgotten.
“Delta tennis has meant so much to me throughout my whole tennis career,” Vest said. “But the biggest thing about it is the family aspect. This team has been my life for the past four years pretty much, managing boys and playing on the girls.”
For them, it’s not just about playing and winning matches.
A family atmosphere is part of what makes Delta’s tennis program so successful.
“I’m going to miss my teammates so much,” Beckley said. “I love tennis, but they are what makes tennis so much fun.”
Coach Tim Cleland has different events for the team, like his Aim High character development shirts and an activity in which the players all write kind messages for their teammates.
Cleland preaches that being able to work with others, treating people with respect and helping people to get better is something that can help in their tennis career and for the rest of their life.
“If you really want to run a good program, you have to have the kids have to feel like it’s part of a family,” Cleland said. “They have to feel like it’s safe to make mistakes and get better and grow.”
This has paid off because the players aren’t only improving at tennis by being on the team but learning valuable life lessons at the same time.
Both seniors have had successful tennis careers.
Beckley has played varsity singles since she was a freshman and currently has a 63-28 career record.
“Tennis has given me a work ethic and drive that I can apply outside of tennis,” Beckley said.
She’s earned All-District and All-State Honorable Mention honors as a sophomore and a junior.
She said her best accomplishment in tennis was her junior year on prom day. They had a three-match tournament, where Beckley went 3-0 on the day and won the last match 6-0, 6-0 against state-ranked Bishop Chatard to win the team match.
Vest currently has a 70-12 career record. Her freshman year she played both JV and varsity and had a 4-1 record on varsity as a freshman.
Her sophomore year she moved to number 2 doubles on varsity and earned All-District and All-State Doubles Honorable Mention with her partner Rowan Hinds.
Her junior year, she moved up to number 1 varsity doubles with teammate Kate Manor and was chosen for All-District and All-State First Team Doubles. She and Manor are 18-3 this year entering sectionals. She’s also just the ninth girl in Delta tennis history to have 70 career wins.
“She’s shown me how to really work hard through everything, no matter what,” her doubles partner Katie Manor said. “It’s going to be different without her next year.”
Delta’s tennis team has a challenging schedule. This season, they’ve already played five of the top 25 teams in the state. This adds more pressure to win on the varsity players.
“With our accomplishments last year many schools have targets on our backs,” Vest said. “So we have to fight for every match.”
Other seniors, Mackemzie Lipps and Avery Barnes, have both played tennis for four years. Lipps has a 20-23 record on JV and Barnes has a 16-20 record on JV.
Tonight (May 21) the girls team will compete in the sectional to possibly advance in the post-season.
