EDWARDSVILLE - Alton senior girls tennis player Paige Rockholm finished her high school tennis career recently at the Illinois High School Association Class 2A sectional at the Edwardsville Tennis Center on a high note.
Rockholm won her first-round match with partner Anna Kane over a team from Springfield High 6-3, 2-6, 6-1, before losing in the second round to a pair from Chatham Glenwood 6-1, 6-0. Rockholm and Kane played well throughout the day, and she was very pleased with her efforts in her matches.
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"I did pretty well," Rockholm said with a smile during a post-match interview following her second-round match. "I think I did well."
Rockholm felt that the match against the Springfield duo was her best, despite the windy and cool conditions. It required a lot of adjustments during the match to compensate for the unpredictable winds.
"They went good," Rockholm said. "We had to learn to work with the wind; that was our setback. But we figured it out, and we pulled through."
Rockholm felt that the wind was the strongest factor in her and Kane's play throughout the day, and were able to make the adjustments to it to play well.
"Definitely the wind," Rockholm said. "The wind is a big factor in that, because you have to not hit it out, and it goes different ways, so you have to learn to control it."
Rockholm felt her body of work during the 2020 season was good overall.
"I think it was good," Rockholm said. "It was probably my best season."
The memories of playing for the Redbirds will now become very important to Rockholm, and her favorites include the time she spent with her teammates.
"The best memories are the girls that are on the team," Rockholm said. "They really made me feel special, and we were working as a family, so I'll miss them."
Rockholm was also very grateful to have the season, despite the complications presented by the pandemic and the adjustments needed.
"Yes, I was very thankful we still got a season," Rockholm said.
Rockholm now prepares for life without tennis, as she'll be attending the University of Missouri next fall, majoring in nursing. The memories of playing for the Redbirds will last a lifetime.
"Yes, for sure," Rockholm said with a smile.
