Meadowdale senior sets her sights high

LYNNWOOD — The decision to focus on one sport is paying off for Meadowdale’s Lauren Summers.

Until last year, the Maverick senior standout was both an accomplished Junior Olympic ski racer and one of the top girls tennis players in the league.

But combining the two sports was a juggling act and often made tennis somewhat of a struggle. Meadowdale coach Mark Schneider saw the toll it took on Summers.

“Last year she was literally, at times, getting off an airplane from a ski event and getting driven up here from Sea-Tac and dropped off by the tennis courts for a practice or match,” Schneider said. “This year I see a lot more energy. I see a lot more power and a ton of focus.”

Last fall, Summers decided she would focus exclusively on tennis and gave up ski racing, which she had been doing since she was five.

As of last Tuesday, Summers was 14-1 overall at the No. 1 singles slot. She has won 28 of 31 sets this season. Summers’ first loss of the season was to Shorewood’s Samantha Lim, who avenged a loss earlier this season with a 6-3, 6-1 victory.

Summers still likely will be seeded No. 1 at next week’s Western Conference South Division championships. There will not be a third match between the two since Lim will be playing doubles in the postseason.

In addition to the high school practices, Summers is taking outside tennis lessons.

“I never really had a chance to play tennis because I was always busy skiing. I always had more fun playing tennis,” Summers said, “and I wanted to be able to put the time in and concentrate on it. It’s been worth it.”

Because of her skiing commitments Summers played in about half of Meadowdale’s matches last season. She took second place in singles at the Northwest District tournament and advanced to the state tournament for the second straight season. Summers did not place at state as a junior but was seventh in singles as a sophomore. She was a state alternate her freshman year.

Summers also has played in several tournaments in the offseason and her success there has helped improve her mental game.

“Since I’ve been playing every day I have a lot more confidence than I did last year,” Summers said. “I’ve played some pretty tough people outside of high school.”

Schneider describes Summers as a consistent player with a no-quit attitude. The Meadowdale senior also has a powerful game that bodes well for the future, both in the upcoming postseason and a possible college career.

“She has an incredible kick-serve that she’s developed over the last couple of years,” Schneider said. “Her backhand is powerful. Her forehand is powerful. She’s got a huge first serve. When she uses the kick serve, it’s a huge kick … she’s a real standout in the league.”

Summers is hoping to continue her tennis career in college, possibly at the University of Washington where she already has been accepted.

Initially, Summers was going to try and continue ski racing.

“I never really thought about tennis as the sport for me,” Summers said. “I was going to do both sports in college. But I knew I had to make a decision doing one or both. They’re both really time consuming and I thought I had a shot at tennis and I had a lot of fun with it.”

Up next for Summers is the Wesco South Division tournament on May 11-13 at Jackson High School. The Northwest District tournament follows on May 18-20 at Stanwood High School and the Class 4A state tournament is set for May 26-27 at the Vancouver Tennis Center.

Then it’s on to college for Summers and a possible UW tennis career.

“I think she’ll do really well at the collegiate level,” Schneider said. “(The UW) women’s tennis program could probably use her … I think they need a powerful player like Lauren.”