Meg Leonard is a trooper of the highest order on the tennis court.
The Redmond High senior grins and chuckles a bit when she lists her injuries: She points to the brace on her right knee and then stretches out her right shoulder.
“I’m battling through — it’s wear and tear. It’s going well,” said Leonard, who has paired up with junior Natalie Boesen at doubles for the second consecutive season. So far this year, the No. 1 team was 4-2 in 4A Kingco and 6-2 overall at press time.
Coach Bryan Rowley is impressed with his duo, who will compete at districts along with other Mustangs May 16-18.
“They’re cohesive and they’re always communicating. That’s huge and important for success,” he said before practice on Tuesday afternoon.
Leonard and Boesen said that along with their consistent play all over the court, they have plenty of pep talks and give tons of high-fives to support each other.
Boesen is clearly proud to play alongside Leonard as she glances at her teammate and adds: “I don’t know how I’d play if I had the same injuries. She motivates me to play at a higher level.”
Redmond’s No. 2 doubles team of Allie Hanson and Jina Kwon have also shone this season, according to Rowley.
On the Mustang singles side, senior No. 4 player Jessie Liu was 5-1 at press time and sophomore No. 1 player Marin Bando was gutting it out against Kingco’s top players who have competed in the tough league for several years, Rowley said.
Liu’s top moment this year was defeating her stellar Skyline opponent, and she added that her serve and placement shots have been working to her advantage this season.
She’s dialed in mentally, as well.
“I just keep focused and try not to get too worked up about making mistakes,” she said.
As for Bando, she moved to Redmond eight months ago from Japan when her father transferred to Nintendo. She’s gotten to know her teammates and the differences of playing tennis in the states compared to Japan. In her homeland, some of the courts are turfed while they play on concrete here; perhaps more importantly, she said with a smile that her Redmond team doesn’t run a mile before practice like she did with her old squad.
Bando is enjoying playing against Kingco opponents.
“It really helps me and pushes me. I get motivated, and I want to play better,” she said.
