On Oct. 26, sophomore Katie Ferguson took second place at the Class Two Singles State Championship for tennis. She took fourth place at the same tournament last year.

Going into the tournament, Katie felt prepared because of her previous experience at the tournament.

“I felt good, I felt prepared, and I pushed through all the challenges,” Katie said. “As a freshman, you go into this tournament not knowing what to expect. As a sophomore, you actually do what to expect, so it allows you to train better.”

Katie feels that having a supportive team behind her was one of the reasons she made it so far.

“My biggest supporters were my family, my teammates and my coaches, especially Coach Pestka, who watched all my matches at State,” Katie said.

Varsity girls tennis is coached by math teacher Emily Pestka. Pestka has noticed Katie’s effort in both her attitude and skill on the court.

“Katie put in countless hours between school practices and training on her own throughout the season, ultimately preparing her for the state tournament,” Pestka said. “She went into the tournament confident, focused and ready to play her game.”

Not only does Katie improve her game off the tennis court, during matches she continues to develop her skills.

“Katie welcomed and utilized feedback and liked to talk through what was happening on the court, whether she was up or down,” Pestka said. “I was consistently impressed by her game and felt like every time I watched her I learned a new strength of her game.”

Even though she participated in the semi-finals of State last year, the excitement of winning the game this year shocked Katie.

“Last year I got fourth, when I won second this year I was super excited,” Katie said.

Sophomore Maya Martin is one of Katie’s teammates on the girls varsity tennis team.

“It has been such a joy to watch Katie be successful at the state level. Every time we have stepped out on the court together in junior tennis or high school tennis I feel like I have learned something from her,” Martin said. “She has such a strong mental game which leads her to success.”

Senior Meghan Ferguson is Katie’s sister and this season was Meghan’s last with the varsity girls tennis team.

“I was tremendously proud of Katie. She has been working hard and improving in her tennis game the past year. She deserved where she ended up in state and I am excited where her tennis will take her,” Meghan said. “Sharing this last season with my sister, and not only playing with her, but also supporting her through the end was some of the happiest moments I could have asked for.”