By Hallie Peacock
The girls tennis team at La Cueva High School is currently undefeated, but winning isn’t as easy as it seems. As they prepare for state, Coach Amy Heimerl provided insight on what it means to be a part of this team.
Heimerl has been coaching for seven years, but has helped the team in years prior. The Bears recently won metro, in both the doubles and singles tournaments, and hope to keep this winning streak going into the state meet.
Working on positivity and letting go of the past has been their mindset for this season. “I think we're pretty resilient right now, too. We've been dealing with a lot of differences, injuries, just things like that. And I think we're resilient and determined,” said Heimerl, characterizing the team. This season, there are two sets of identical twins, juniors Cameron and Kendall King and freshmen Riley and Aubrey Stuart
Cameron King, a previous two-time individual state champion, had a two year winning streak that ended this year but she feels that has taken off some of the pressure.
Even with the pressure and stress that comes with junior year, she is keeping a positive attitude: “But just pushing through and keeping my eye on wanting to continue to get better and improve, that has kind of been my focus.”
For state, King is alternating between individual and doubles, with partner Stephanie Romero.
The Bears have won state three years in a row, and they are hopeful to win a fourth year. The state tournament is being held at Jerry Cline Tennis Center and finishes up May 6.