Columbus North’s Lucy Bergman hits a shot in a No. 2 singles tennis match against Columbus East April 14 at Columbus North High School.
Lucy Bergman wanted to play singles this season, so she put in the work to make it happen.
The Columbus North junior played No. 1 doubles her freshman and sophomore years, but has made a home at the No. 2 singles position for the Bull Dogs this season.
“It’s been pretty good,” said Bergman. “I feel like I definitely enjoy playing singles, and we’ve been doing really well as a team.”
With the graduation of two-time state singles championship Kathryn Wilson, who now is playing tennis at Purdue, it opened up a spot at least in one of the singles spots.
Aya Saad moved up to Wilson’s spot at the top of the lineup. That slotted Bergman into the No. 2 singles spot this season.
“She worked at it. She wanted to play singles. She was disappointed in not being able to play singles, so she really worked at it on her own in the offseason as far as doing tournaments, doing lessons and was really motivated to try to get to the singles position, especially after losing Kathryn and the positions that opened up,” North coach Kendal Hammel said. “She was ready for it.”
Since picking up a racket around the first grade, Bergman got to watch her older sister Ali, a 2020 North graduate who was on the team when the Bull Dogs made their last state team appearance in 2019.
Lucy Bergman
Lucy Bergman got to see what it took to reach that level.
“It definitely helped me get into it,” Lucy said. “I got to watch them play, and it motivated me to keep trying harder and trying to get to their level. It definitely helped me to know what to expect.”
Bergman also got herself ready by playing in several tournaments. She practiced hitting a couple times a week in the offseason and played at Tipton Lakes Athletic Club about three times a week.
It took a little bit of time in the preseason and the beginning of the season for Bergman to adjust not having a partner beside her, but she picked it up quickly and hasn’t missed a beat.
“It hasn’t been hard at all. I’ve been playing tennis year-round and been playing tennis on my own,” Bergman said. “It definitely felt different in the beginning because you have a little bit more pressure on you, and you don’t have a teammate to talk to, but I kind of already got the feel of it. It helped having a doubles partner to keep motivated, but I know I have the coaches that can help me.”
Bergman also has been adapting and developing her game further along in singles competition. She had helped the Bull Dogs to a 10-3 record heading into Tuesday night’s match with Terre Haute South.
“She’s knows what she’s doing,” Hammel said. “It was more of a mindset for her being set to do doubles in the last year or two versus doing the singles now where she likes to be.”
North begins sectional play next week, where it will be seeking its 11 straight sectional title. The sectional draw will be at 7 p.m. Monday.
“We will be definitely be doing a lot of hitting and drills at practice and really trying to focus on ourself and how we’re mentally going to prepare on our own and with our doubles partner,” Bergman said.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
