Cardinal youth serving well
By John Dixon

Cardinal Newman Girls Tennis Coach Amy Martin (l) and Andrea Martin

Andrea Martin is a 14- year- old freshman at Cardinal Newman. She is also an excellent tennis player in both singles and doubles.

During the absence of Cardinal No. 1 player Samantha August due to illness and another key player, Martin has been one of several players to show real skill and has had a great deal of success while playing at a higher seed than usual. Her record of 6- 2 in singles and 5- 2 in doubles is proof of that.

Martin's hard work this past summer on footwork and improving her overall game seems to have paid off. She is hoping to make a significant contribution as the Lady Cardinals tennis team tries to recapture a SCISA State Championship.

"I am hoping to have a better season (finishing wise) than last year. When I first became serious about tennis I was probably seven or eight and I wanted to play in tennis tournaments all the time. It was really fun just to be out there and play with no pressure. Even now with pressure, I still love the game and it has gotten more fun playing with my doubles partner Alex August," Martin said. "If you put our names together, you get AlexAndrea. We even made T- shirts that say 'The Great Alexandrea'...like Alexander the Great."

Cardinal Newman's new tennis coach happens to be Andrea's mother. When asked how it feels to play competitively when your parent is the coach, Andrea said, "At first I didn't want her to be my coach, but now I love it. I am so thrilled we get to do stuff together outside of our house. I think it has brought us closer. If I am upset about a match, she is too, because she wants it for all of us. I am so thankful they thought of her when hiring."

Coach Martin's team has done well thus far and as they march toward encounters with arch nemeses Hammond and Heathwood Hall, Andrea notes they face stiff competition, but her chief challenge is not getting down on herself when she makes mistakes or doesn't play as well as she had hoped. Having the support of friends, family, and team makes that a lot easier.