ATHLETE OF THE WEEK — Theresa Linker

West Ashley High School senior Theresa Linker finished the last tennis match of her high school career with a bang. She hit the ball so hard the strings on her racket broke! This just goes to show what a powerhouse she has been on the court this season. “Theresa has played #2, #3, and #4 singles in her three years of playing Varsity Tennis for WAHS. This year, at her position, she beat every opponent in the region at least once and most of them twice,” says head tennis coach Jaima Kennedy.
Linker played tennis on and off in her spare time as a hobby until her sophomore year in high school when her grandmother encouraged her to play for the school team. “It’s a fun sport to play and it’s a great stress reliever,” says Linker. Tennis is a good sport for Linker because it gives her the opportunity to compete individually by singles as opposed to doubles. “I like being on my own and not having to depend on other people, but still getting to be part of a team,” she says.
Like many athletes, Linker has had to make sacrifices in order to play tennis. She’s only able to work on weekends because of the practices and matches during the week. The team practices two hours a day Monday through Thursday each week; focusing on agility and stamina to help improve their endurance during matches. “It helps when we play against tougher competition like Wando and people who have more powerful hits,” says Linker.
Linker has managed to accomplish quite a bit since she started high school. In tennis, as a sophomore she made the 4A All-Region Team, and this year she became the first WAHS female tennis player to beat a Wando player in a singles match. In school, Linker is proud that she was recently elected vice president of Student Government Association (SGA) and was nominated as a Student Ambassador. She is also a member of the National Honor Society and a part of the WAHS Drama Program. She will be featured in The Drama Studio’s upcoming production “Let it Shine” on Nov. 17. Outside of school Linkler is a Red Cross volunteer and an active participant in the youth groups Young Life and Awakened.
When Linker graduates in the spring of 2016, she plans to attend either Clemson University or the University of North Carolina — Chapel Hill. She hasn’t decided whether or not she will play tennis when she gets to college. “I’ve thought about it, but I don’t want to be tied down,” says Linker. She worries that if there is too much pressure to win she won’t enjoy playing as much. She plans to major in Biology because she wants to have a career in the medical field; she is thinking about becoming an athletic trainer, a physician’s assistant, or an oncologist.