Freshman Eva Kading plays on the girls varsity tennis team and is one of the six players preparing for state.
Q: When did you start playing tennis?
A: Probably when I was about 10 or 11.
Q: Why did you start playing?
A:My mom played in college, my uncle played, and a lot of my family played, so I just played for fun and I really liked it, so I took it up seriously.
Q: What has made you keep playing?
A: I play singles a lot, so I’m always on my own, and it kinda freaks me out sometimes, but it’s fun. When you win, it’s you, it’s only you, which I really like. And then all the people I play tennis with are really fun, so I really like that.
Q: What have you learned from the sport that you feel applies to other aspects of your life?
A: Just like working really hard. Again, it’s only you, so you just have to really work hard. It can be really difficult; this summer I played some really tough matches outside and it was really hot, so I’d just think about winning and the end result, and that just helped me get through it.
Q: Do you play tennis anywhere outside of East?
A: I do high school tennis and I play at Homestead Country Club. I take private lessons there, and then after high school tennis I’m starting at Overland Park Racquet Club
Q: What are you most looking forward to this season?
A: I’m really excited for regionals this weekend, and then hopefully I’ll get top six there so I can go to state, which is the weekend after.
Q: What is your goal for this season?
A: Probably just to do good at state. I mean . . . there’s a lot of good people at state, but to try to do top 10 if possible.
Q: How do you hope to achieve that?
A: We’ve just been working really hard. I just play singles, so I’ve been working on singles every day, and I think we have a really good chance of winning or getting runner-up at state, which I think will be really good, and just working with all the coaches has been really helpful.
Q: What do you bring to the varsity tennis team this year?
A: We’re made up of a really young team. A lot of us are sophomores and freshmen — there’s only two seniors on varsity — so I think that we all bring a lot, but I think I’m a lot different than most of the other people, so it’s a good mix. I think in how I play, I’m a really consistent player and I [return a lot of shots], so I think that’s really good.
Q: Do you plan on continuing to play tennis after you graduate high school?
A: Yeah, I’d really like to play in college. That’s what I’m working towards, a college tennis scholarship to play at a D1 college. I think that would be so much fun. That’s my goal.
