Freshman Juliana Gibson filled big shoes this spring season as she played number one seed for the Freedom Girls Tennis team. While this may sound like a somewhat effortless milestone, it is the result of playing the sport for ten years.

“I tried every other sport and didn’t enjoy any of them as much as I enjoy tennis,” said the athlete.

After ten years of competitive tennis and playing United States Tennis Association (USTA) matches, Gibson was finally able to join a high school team. Despite the pressure of joining a team as the only freshman, Gibson fit right in and enjoys being part of a group of girls who share the same love as her.

“Juliana has a lot of maturity and skill for a freshman,” said Freedom Tennis Coach Richard Simard. “She is always able to stay calm whether winning or losing and always plays the game with honesty and integrity.”

As a first-year high school tennis player, Gibson has definitely accomplished a fair amount of goals for the season. The tennis player has gone undefeated for all of her matches and continued to do so at the Hillsborough Country District Tournament—better known as “Districts.” At Districts, the Freedom Girls team advanced to the finals and lost to King High School while Gibson was able to win her match against King’s number one seed. This earned the freshman a spot at the State Tournament which will occur later this month.

“My first time at Districts this year was really cool, especially since the whole team was there and everyone was cheering for each other,” said Gibson. “I feel really excited about going to states.”

This journey to States is not only a first for Gibson, but for Freedom High School as well.

“We’re excited and proud to have our first female tennis player in Freedom’s history go to states,” said Freedom Tennis Coach Jennifer Simard.

Although the team lost in the final match at Districts, they are scheduled to play in the Regional Tournament on April 18^th. After this, the season will come to an end for the team, and Gibson will head to States as a solo player.

“As a senior who has played on the team for four years, it’ll be sad to leave, but I know Julianna and Anna [Lamlein, 10] will always put up a fight against other schools and I can’t wait to hear about their accomplishments,” said Co-Captain Lindsay Strickland.