Female Athlete of the Week
In her fourth season with the Ida Baker tennis team, senior Amanda Teets continues to seek improvement in all phases of the game.
She has focused on stronger net play to go along with her signature backhand shot, and is becoming a better conditioned player after working with first-year coach Jennifer Ryba.
“Everything can use tweaking,” said Teets, the Bulldogs’ No. 1 singles player.
Though it’s still early in the season, Teets is making clear progress.
The Daily Breeze Female Athlete of the Week owns a 5-0 singles mark, which includes straight-set victories over Cypress Lake and North Fort Myers opponents last week.
“(Amanda) is our captain this year and she is really setting a great example,” Ryba said. “She’s becoming very persistent on the court.”
Teets and her teammates have gone through a transition this season. Ryba, who played Division I tennis at New Mexico, has brought some of her college training methods to Baker.
Though it was difficult at first, Teets acknowledges it’s been better for the team.
“The conditioning that we’re doing is what the team needs,” Teets said.
Teets began playing at Baker at the same time the school and program were just getting started. She enjoyed her share of success in previous years, but also faced difficult, and in some cases more experienced competition, playing against the other team’s top player.
That competition has helped Teets improve consistently since picking up the game in seventh grade.
“I was handed a beginner piece of paper that said ‘do you want to try out for tennis’ and I said ‘sure why not,'” she said. “I just stuck with it.”
After graduating, Teets will attend Eckerd College, located in the Tampa-St. Pete area, and hopes to receive a scholarship from there to continue her tennis career.
Honorable mentions:
Mariah Fernandez, senior, North Fort Myers softball: Fernandez went 6-for-9 at the plate with a home run and triple as the Red Knights posted wins over Mariner, Lehigh and Charlotte. She also scored three goals Saturday in an All-Star Soccer Game.
Alexis ‘Louie’ Ross, freshman, Ida Baker softball: Ross smashed two home runs in the Bulldogs’ 14-0 win over Cypress Lake last week and added a third blast in a 10-9 loss to Gulf Coast.