Tenzin Nelson had little trouble dominating the singles flights she played in during the first three seasons of her Aquinas High School girls tennis career.
But could she duplicate that at No. 1 and consistently face the best player every opponent has to offer?
Nelson was interested in that answer as she followed up an appearance in the WIAA state tournament as a junior that included one win and one loss in the Division 2 bracket at Nielsen Tennis Center in Madison.
But not only was Nelson going to jump to No. 1 singles, the Blugolds were going to jump from Division 2 to Division 1 after finishing second in last year’s team state tournament.
She’d had a taste of the elite competition, but was she going to be able to handle it on a regular basis?
“I was a little nervous about it, but we’ve had lots of great 1 singles players in the past, and I tried to take after them,” Nelson said on Wednesday. “The team leaders we’ve had in the past helped me to know what was coming.”
Whether she could adapt to the play of different players on that level was a question Nelson had for herself. She spent the past two months proving that she does while compiling a 28-2 record that made her a No. 16 seed for this week’s state tournament.
Nelson will begin her bracket against Superior’s Lily Clark (23-2) at 10:30 a.m. Thursday. She is one of five local players who qualified for the tournament, which begins Thursday and concludes Saturday at Nielsen.
Onalaska junior Mara Klein (16-8) is also in the Division 1 singles bracket and begins against Sun Prairie West’s Mya Mommaerts (23-1) in a 12:15 p.m. match on Thursday.
Onalaska Luther has singles and doubles qualifiers in Division 2, and they are joined by West Salem senior Kendall Sullivan (26-2).
Senior Emma Kolb (28-4) squares off with Waukesha Catholic Memorial’s Grace Schreiber (18-9) at 5:54 p.m. Thursday, and seniors Kenzie Olson and Keira Paus (25-7) meet Stevens Point Pacelli’s Vivian Berna and Maddy Pionek (8-6) in their first-round doubles match at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Sullivan draws Madison Edgewood’s Abigail Barker (13-8) in her first-round singles match at 5:15 p.m. Thursday.
Nelson, who owns a 110-6 career record with the Blugolds, had a couple statement matches this season according to coach Evan Huemoeller.
“The adversity I’ve seen has been in matches against Elkhorn and the one for the conference championship,” he said. “I was really impressed with how she overcame that.
“She just went about her business and won.”
Nelson said the match against Elkhorn had the added element of a close dual meet. The Blugolds prevailed 4-3 after Nelson won her match in a 15-13 tiebreak. Nelson was pushed by Klein in the match for the MVC title before prevailing 6-1, 6-4.
“The one against Elkhorn (on Sept. 6),” Nelson said, “made me feel like I was where I should be.”
The goal for the season, Huemoeller said, was to play with a new pace.
“To compete and win at No. 1 singles, you need to hit the through the court and make people worry about you hitting a winner on them,” Huemoeller said. “When you hit high over the net and with so much margin, it gives people time to react, and they can play comfortable knowing you aren’t going for that winner.”
He knew Nelson’s athleticism would help the transition. Defensive playing was out, and she was going on more of an attack than she’d previously played.
The venue for this week’s tournament is one that appeals to Nelson, who also played at Nielsen for the sectional and in both the individual and team state tournaments last year Nelson won three of four state matches she played as a junior.
“It makes everything more intense,” she said. “I just enjoy the atmosphere in general. All of the people around you just love tennis.”
