Springfield Catholic’s Lila Griesemer does not go a match day without her gold tennis rackets.
“It’s tennis jewelry I guess, tennis rackets,” Lila said. “My mom got it for me as a start of senior year gift. It’s very special to me, I wear it every match day.”
But it is Lila herself who sets a gold standard for the Lady Irish.
“She is one of the hardest workers,” said Springfield Catholic Head Tennis Coach Aaron Tackett. “She is one of the best teammates out there. She does everything well, plays at the net well, baseline. She moves well, she serves well, so you can tell she is a natural. She has been doing it for a long time.”
A long time is right, make it practically her whole life.
“Probably had a racket in my hand since before I was walking and both of my siblings have played, so I kind of have just grown up in a family that is surrounded by tennis,” Lila said.
The early exposure to tennis paid off.
“Recently last year I made it to state and got to play with my teammates last year in state, which was just an incredible experience,” Lila said.
As Lila closes out her high school tennis career, she is looking to inch closer to a different kind of gold to wear around her neck.
“I’m really wanting to make it to state again,”Lila said. “Try to be number one in the district and then try to do better than last year at state.”
