Troy sectional
Division I: Opening rounds, Wednesday; Semifinals and finals, Saturday.
Division II: Opening rounds, Tuesday; Semifinals and finals, Saturday.
* All sessions begin at 9 a.m. Opening rounds singles at Troy Community Park, Doubles at Troy High School. All semifinals and finals are at Troy Community Park.
SPRINGFIELD — She came onto the prep tennis scene last year as a precocious freshman, surprisingly advancing to the districts as an unseeded doubles player.
Her improvement over the past year has made her a favorite to get back to districts, this time in singles.
Shawnee sophomore Kenzie Detrick is 15-3 this season, her first at No. 1 singles. Detrick’s only losses have come to Catholic Central’s Frannie Trempe and twice to Tippecanoe sophomore standout Sierra Nellessen.
That gave her a second seed at this week’s Division II Troy Sectionals. But it is her defeats that have made her better.
“She has changed a lot since her first match,” said Shawnee coach Alyssa Peterson, referring to the Trempe loss. “I know Kenzie was disappointed with the way she played. She felt she could have beaten Frannie if she had played her best tennis.”
Detrick agreed.
“I take lessons with Frannie, so I know her pretty well,” said Detrick. “I think it really helped me because I looked at what I did in the match and it helped me realize where I was and what I needed to work on for the season.”
As the season progressed, so did Detrick.
“I think she got more confidence in her skills,” said Peterson. “She started off making more mistakes than other girls and then getting down on herself. She has definitely cut down on those unforced errors, and that has helped her.”
It’s also helped that she has stuck with singles.
“I like singles much better,” Detrick said. “I think it’s because you depend more on yourself instead of relying on someone else.”
Her dad, Dan, who was a state qualifier in doubles for Shawnee, is a Braves assistant coach this season.
“He practices with me a lot,” Kenzie said. “It’s good to have him there because he knows my game pretty well. Our games are pretty similar to each other.
“There’s a lot of give and take,” she added. “I’m very glad he’s in my corner. He’s really smart tennis-wise. And my coach, Greg (Dredge), is pretty good with strategy as well.”
So Detrick is the sum of several coaching influences. Plus she’s got realistic goals, and works hard at them — also running cross country for the Braves, which she says helps with her stamina.
“My goal is definitely getting to districts in singles,” she said. “And I want to have a pretty good outcome in districts. And before I’m done, I’d really like to go to state.”
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