For the Love of Tennis: Freshman tennis player Molly McDermed joined the state tennis team and won a 5th place doubles medal at state

Freshman Molly McDermed walked onto the court of her first state tennis match alongside her partner, junior Catherine Beltrame. Her typical bubbly smile morphed into a look of determination. Molly was ready to enter her first state tennis tournament, blue and white ribbons tied in her ponytail and a racket clenched in her hand.

Molly came into her first season used to the groundstroke focused style of play that comes with singles through her years of training at Overland Park Racket Club and the countless tournaments she played. According to head East tennis coach Andrew Gibbs, she just happened to fit into doubles for the team this year for the regionals lineup.

Gibbs mentioned that partners’ personalities should complement each other as much as their games do. And both girls understood that teamwork wasn’t just about skill on the court. As the season went on, Molly and Catherine became more confident in their chemistry as a doubles team.

“We both have to genuinely believe that we can succeed and feed off of each other’s energy,” Catherine said.

But the pair’s skills also grew. Catherine noted that her serve placements allowed Molly to poach at the net with her strong overheads. Molly set up points with her deep topspin forehands, offsetting opponents. 

Gibbs explained that a large part of doubles tennis is understanding how to drive and finish points using volleys. Doubles tennis isn’t only about communication, but about confidence and placement at the net, which only grew as the season went on for Molly.

“If the opposing team’s player is in the space where the ball needs to go, sometimes the volley finish needs to go through the player,” Gibbs said.

When the regionals team was selected, Molly and Catherine were eager for their chance at the state tournament. All matches were played more cautiously, with more on the line, according to Catherine. The girls held their breath through their matches until the final point of the last match.

“At the last match of regionals, Molly dropped her racket and ran up to hug me,” Beltrame said. “She said to me: ‘Our next match will be state!’”

Reality set in. Molly was going to state. Although she was thrilled, she felt a sense of pressure due to East’s strong reputation.

“The team had won five years in a row. Molly felt like it was all on her,” Angie McDermed, Molly’s mom, said. “But she’s a freshman, it’s not all on her.”

Going into state, the team’s work was done — all they had left to do now was play. When the pair got going, they were able to pull each other out of ruts — a few missed returns or a faulty volley — and get on a roll. Molly and Catherine fed off each other’s energy the way they did each day in practice, according to the pair.

“I’m excited, I’m terrified, I’m hoping that we can do well but it’s going to be hard,” Molly said. 

During their first match against Olathe South, the team fought back from trailing in the first set 1-2. Communication between points with traces of “we’ve got this” and “let’s keep going,” along with many racket bumps fueled the pair to come back.

Catherine and Molly won their first set 6-4. Molly’s putaway volleys — set up by Catherine’s precise serve placements — won multiple points for the pair, allowing them to win both sets and match to continue through the tournament.

“Molly is a fighter. She’s going to fight, fight, fight to figure it out,” Angie said.

In the team’s final match of the tournament, Molly and Catherine found themselves playing against friends from an Olathe Northwest team they had come across in multiple tournaments before. While jokes and conversations were exchanged before the match began, the banter was left off the court. 

“Molly’s relentless on the court as a player. She doesn’t give in: bend but not break mentality,” Overland Park Racquet Club Junior Tennis Director, Austen Kauss, said. “She hits balls on the run very well and is aggressive when people come into the net. She hits bigger forehands and backhands inside the baseline than just about anybody at the club.”

Catherine and Molly came out of their final match with an 8-4 win, taking 5th place in the state for doubles. Their win allowed the East tennis team to place second overall in the state of Kansas. 

Through years of training, Molly defined her skillset with her own personal strong suits. Her well-placed groundstrokes and her tenacity have been noticed by teammates and coaches alike.

“She’s probably taken some of the biggest strides technically and grown individually,” Kauss said.

After bumping rackets with their competitors, the pair picked up their medals and celebrated with the rest of the team and their state runner-up trophy. With three more years of high school tennis in front of her, Molly now carries her first state medal.