Escambia girls tennis player Regan York wins PNJ Athlete of the Week award
The Florida High School Athletic Association tennis season is wrapping up shortly.
That doesn’t mean some tennis players have stood out as the postseason looms, with district tournaments for all classifications at some point this week.
During the week of March 24-29, Escambia girls tennis’ Regan York pushed the Gators to a victory over Booker T. Washington before falling narrowly to West Florida. York won both of her first singles matches against the Wildcats and Jaguars, before teaming up with Brianna Williams to win at first doubles in both matches.
For her efforts, York won the PNJ Athlete of the Week award for that week, sponsored by Florida Power and Light, after mustering 60.73% of the poll’s votes the following week on the PNJ’s website. Each weekly winner is awarded a one-of-a-kind PNJ Athlete of the Week shirt.
Here’s a question-and-answer session with York after she spoke with PNJ Sports Reporter Ben Grieco.
Q&A with Escambia girls tennis’ Regan York
PNJ: Overall, what’s your season been like as we near the postseason?
Regan York: “Honestly, a little bipolar. Lots of ups and downs. I’ve had a lot of good wins, but I’ve had a lot of bad losses. I guess, overall, it’s been average.”
PNJ: Where would you say you are right now?
RY: Probably a little on the downslope. I’m a little nervous for districts starting on Thursday.”
PNJ: What’s practice been like leading up to the district tournament?
RY: “Pretty good. I play much different in practice compared to games.”
PNJ: Is training any different preparation-wise for playoffs?
RY: “Not really. I just try to focus in.”
PNJ: What’s the mental side of things like, going into the postseason?
RY: “I try to play my own game and not get in my own head.”
PNJ: The week you won Athlete of the Week, you won at first singles and first doubles against Booker T. Washington and West Florida. What’s it like having a lot of good competition in the area?
RY: “It’s good to play against those players. I feel like it makes me a lot better as a player. It’s nice to have good competition.”
PNJ: I know Coach Garrett mentioned you were at the Rover event up in Huntsville this past weekend, and I was interested to hear more about it. Tell me a little about the event.
RY: “It’s the Human Exploration Rover Challenge. I was one of the drivers for our Rover, along with my friend, Sean Smudde. It’s like an exploration challenge, sort of, where your team builds a rover. Our engineering program helped build it – it’s a nice rover. You go to Huntsville where they have an obstacle course and compete against other teams from around the country and world. You do reports on it and things like that. … There’s a bunch of awards you can win, like STEM reports or engaging with other kids. It’s a good experience.”
PNJ: Back to tennis. Some quick questions: do you have any pre-match superstitions or traditions you follow?
RY: “I eat an orange or a banana before every game.”
PNJ: I guess that answers my next questions then about a pre-game meal or snack. Moving on, how about any music before a game?
RY: “Usually I just go and play. But every once and awhile I’ll listen to ‘All the Stars’ by Kendrick Lamar and SZA.”
PNJ: Is there a dream court you’ve always wanted to play on?
RY: “I can’t think of one. I haven’t put too much thought into that.”
PNJ: If you were going to go against somebody in singles, is there a dream opponent?
RY: “I’d be interested to see how I’d play against a team like Pace.”
PNJ: How about a dream doubles partner?
RY: “Serena Williams would be amazing to play with her one day. Just having an experience like that, that would be incredible.”
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Escambia girls tennis’ Regan York wins PNJ Athlete of the Week award
