Heading into this tennis season, it was no
surprise how well junior Mara Wolff was
expected to do. Having been in the top 20
of United States Tennis Association (UTSA)
New England 16’s last season and having
gone to the Junior Team Tennis Nationals in
Texas her freshman year, Wolff and the rest
of the girls’ tennis team look to make a deep
run come the ECC and CIAC tournaments
later this spring.
Currently, the
team has a win/
loss record of 4-3,
and Wolff has a
personal record of 5-2.
The team will play
rivals Stonington
and Waterford twice
throughout the season and
will need everyone’s best to
ensure victory. Wolff is more
than prepared to face them
and pull out wins for East
Lyme.
“Mara will be playing the
No. 1 singles position, and
she is one of the strongest
players in the ECC. She has
a real dedication to the sport
and trains year round. This preparation
will serve her well against Stonington
and Waterford. I believe that she has a
great shot at winning the ECC singles
tournament at the end of the season,”
girls’ tennis coach Laurie Brenda said.
Being a tennis player of nine years,
Wolff holds herself to a high standard
and has the experience that others may
not have. This love of the game stems
from both her father playing in high
school and passing the torch on to her.
She discovered her own love for her
team and competition.
“I’m excited to be on a team, since
I wasn’t on it last year. This year, I’m
most excited to play Stonington and
Waterford since the girls I would be
playing with are my best friends. I really
like competition, so I guess it being an
individual sport means you drive yourself
to be better. You rely on yourself and not
someone else. It’s just you,” Wolff said.
What sets Wolff apart from other elite
athletes is her dedication to her team and
friendships she makes with them. Sophomore
Avni Kabra, who has played with Wolff for
the last year, has been impressed by Wolff ’s
ferocity and level of play on the court and
appreciates the friend that she’s become.
“Mara’s always been there for me. She’s
always pushing me to do better, and if one
day I’m playing with her and my serves aren’t
going in, she will offer to do serving practice
with me. I love that about her- she’s a tough
opponent during our matches, and a really
great friend afterwards to help me improve.
Her optimistic, positive, and silly attitude lifts
up the team’s spirits,” Kabra said.
“The atmosphere for high school tennis is
really fun. It’s not very competitive, practices
are mostly laughing and having fun, and we
do build a very good team and I feel like not
a lot of people don’t know that about tennis.
It’s more about being together and having
fun rather than always being in the mindset
of ‘competition, competition, competition’,”
Wolff said.