Sr Focus: Brittany White enjoys playing tennis at Seymour

You can include Brittany White among high school athletes who say they have fun while playing sports.
"Tennis is a lot of fun, and we get along really well as a team," the Seymour senior said.

This is the first season White has been in the varsity lineup and she has played No. 2 doubles throughout the spring. "I played (JV) singles up to this year. It's a lot different. On varsity you have to work a lot harder."

She said playing No. 2 doubles she doesn't feel the pressure she would at No. 1 doubles. "They have to work really hard for what they get. Me and my partner, we hang in there."

White says she prefers to be on the ‘ad' side, the left side. "I like to use my forehand. My forehand and my serve are my strong points. My serve is really good. I've got a high average on first serves."

White has had two different partners, Chelsea Rogers and Miranda Caudell. "Miranda has been my main partner. She started off the year as my main partner. There is a lot of difference between the two because we have certain things that we know without having to say it out loud.

"Most of the time I'm responsible for the different angles, so if I was on the left side I would be responsible for the left angles and the middle, and (her partner) would start in the back and move forward, and each of us would be responsible for half of the court."

White says he likes to play aggressive. "I love the net. I like to hit overheads, slam the ball and put it away."
White says she can find out a lot about the opposing team during warm-ups. "You can find out your opponents' strengths and weaknesses very easy. We try to play up to our full potential while warming up to let them know we're stronger.

"I get most of my serves in during warm-up, and we do normally pick on the weakest player, as bad as that sounds. We try to get into their heads. We're really good about getting into their heads."

Brittany White file

Parents: Bob and Bridgette White

Siblings: Brooke
Sports: Tennis 4 years, volleyball 1 years

Physical shape. "It's important because in the cold you have to layer it on, so it's harder to move, and you have to get used to that, and in the summer you sweat a lot because it's extremely hot outside. The first week it was snowing, and now its really hot. There was a lot of rain so we had to practice inside, too."

The wind is a factor: "You have to learn to hit into the wind and away from the wind, so it measures up a lot on your game. Hitting into the wind you have to hit them five feet above the net so that they actually go over the net."
Adjusting to the sun: "My partner normally wears sunglasses so that she serves into the sun, and I always serve away from the sun, and I serve going into the wind and she serves away."

Tennis: "It's fun, it's a good experience. Brad (Emerson) is a good coach. He knows what he's doing."

Being a student at SHS: "It's awesome. I'm going to miss it a lot. I've made a lot of friends, and made a lot of good grades. Had a lot of tough times and good times." She said she enjoys being in Tri M, the music society, and the madrigal choir. "We went to Chicago. We performed at Shedd Aquarium."
Being a senior. "I'm excited and ready to go on to college."

Message to elementary students: "I encourage all the girls that come out of middle school to play sports. It's so much fun, and school goes by really fast playing sports. You learn a lot and make new friends."
Future plans: Attend IUPUC