Erin Altenhofen, a junior at Englewood High School, has been playing tennis for the last two years. Throughout the past two years, Altenhofen has had quite the season, being selected as Player of the Match at their April 12th match this year.

Karla Shotts, the Englewood tennis coach, says Altenhofen has taken on a leadership role this year, “she’s had a really positive attitude, and people on the team really look to her.”

Altenhofen says her favorite part is meeting and playing with new people “with different strategies” in each match, and the most challenging part is learning how the scoring works because “it’s a much different system than most sports.” Altenhofen will definitely be playing again next year for her senior year, and she thinks the EHS tennis program is an excellent opportunity for girls to get the chance to learn how to play tennis and just have fun.

Many more prominent public schools around the state may have a more serious program, but at Englewood, “it’s all about fun, and learning something new.” Altenhofen thinks the EHS tennis program will allow many girls to learn how to play tennis and continue it into their future without “the stress of having to be the best.” Karla Shott agrees, and says the small size of the tennis team gives everyone a chance to have lots of playing time, “they’re on the courts consistently.” This gives players the opportunity to work on skills they need to improve on, Altenhofen for example has had the opportunity to really improve her ability to serve and receive serves.

Altenhofen’s goal for this season is to progress as much as they can as a team, whether it is wins or losses and Shotts think she is ready to take her skills to the next level and “really work on her upper-level skills.”