Transitioning From Cheer to Tennis

Kaleigh Reitzner’s rise to success on the JV tennis team

Alexys Scholle, Reporter | September 30, 2024

Kaleigh Reitzner and Lyla Sartors prepare for their match against Francis Howell North.

Outside of school, Kaleigh Reitzner (10) dedicates lots of her time to playing and practicing tennis. Reitzner is a sophomore who has just recently joined the tennis team.

Reitzner ranks #15 out of 32 players on the junior varsity team. Reitzner is a former cheerleader who was on the freshman cheer team during the the 2023-24 cheer season.

Unfortunately, cheer ended up not working out in Reitzner’s favor.

Rather than feeling sorry for herself, Reitzner decided to put her energy into something more productive.

She began practicing tennis. So far, she has been loving playing tennis, and even said, “It’s been an amazing season. It’s a very valuable team,” Reitzner said.

When Reitzner first began playing tennis, she knew that it was the sport for her and she loved it. Up until tryouts, she worked very hard practicing and taking tennis lessons almost every day.

One skill Reitzner is looking to improve on throughout this season is serving.

“I grow more as I go and practice,” Reitzner said.

Reitzner plays doubles with her partner, Lyla Sartors (9).

Sartors has remained Reitzner’s partner for majority of the season. Sartors describes how Reitzner has been as her partner.

“She is really nice, and always very happy,” Sartors said.

Reitzner said her favorite match was against Fort Zumwalt West. It was a very close, nerve-racking match. She says she and her doubles partner, Sartors, remained positive, and their positive mindset had helped them win the match.

“It was pretty good,” Sartors said.

Overall, Reitzner is enjoying her first season playing tennis, and has nothing but positive things to say about it.

“Everyone is very uplifting and happy to be there,” Reitzner said.

She loves the team and the people, and is looking forward to playing in the years to come.

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About the Contributors

Alexys Scholle, Reporter

Alexys Scholle is a junior in her second year of Publications, and her first year in yearbook. She is eager to be involved in the process of creating the yearbook. Outside of Publications she is involved in HOSA. Outside of school, she works at Panera and loves to read and to paint. In the future, she aspires to be a therapist.

Kirsten Pinkham, Reporter

Kirsten Pinkham is a sophomore, and is in her second year in Publications. Pinkham loves photography, and is the head photographer for the Liberty Eagles Hockey team. She is also going to be the social media manager for the team. Pinkham enjoys going to sports games and writing recap stories of the games, especially for hockey. Outside of Publications, Pinkham loves to read, listen to music, bake, and hang out with her friends. Pinkham hopes to pursue a career in photography and social media management, with the end goal hopefully being the NHL.