Frankfort senior didn’t take tennis seriously until eighth grade. Now she’s at state.
Frankfort senior Ella Abney isn’t among the favorites to win the KHSAA State Tournament girls’ singles championship — she isn’t ranked among the top 16 seeds at state — but her presence in the field is quite an achievement on its own.
The Panthers haven’t had a state tennis tournament participant going back to at least 1998, the first year for which records are available via the KHSAA’s website.
Abney was among the top four seeds in the 11th Region Tournament, which annually fields some of Kentucky’s best prep tennis players and has produced 16 girls’ singles state champions.
“This means the world to me,” Abney said. “Last summer I set a goal that I wanted to make state, and the closer we got to this tournament, the more I became a little worried about it becoming a reality.”
Abney had to win a match during Frankfort’s Senior Night last month to secure the No. 4 seed in the 11th Region, and therefore a favorable path to the final four (and the state-tournament berth that comes with being a region semifinalist). She did what she had to do in the region to make what might be school history, and will try to become the first public-school singles player from the 11th Region to win state since 1987 (Wendy Anderson, Henry Clay).
“All the hard work I’ve put in over the last few years has been worth it,” Abney said.
Program building
Abney joined Frankfort’s team when she was in seventh grade. She was one of just six girls on it then, a far cry from the 18 who participated this season. Forfeiting courts during matches in the early days was a foregone conclusion.
Frankfort’s growth as a program has happened under Cindy Bramble, who played college tennis at Midway and has played competitively into adulthood. Bramble, who’s also served on boards and committees for the USTA’s Kentucky chapter, guided the Panthers’ tennis program to its first winning record in school history this spring. She’s a walking example of what she tells prospective players: tennis can be a lifelong sport if you want it to be.
Bramble was Abney’s teacher in fifth grade, and the former calls the latter her “mini me.” Their appreciation for each other was on full display during a tear-filled embrace at the 11th Region awards ceremony, at which Bramble was named Coach of the Year and Abney was specially honored for her sportsmanship.
“She’ll call me at 8 o’clock in the morning and say, ‘Do you want to play?’ And I’m like, ‘Ella, it’s snowing, we can’t play right now,’” Bramble said with a laugh. “She just has that drive and desire. It inspires me when I play now.”
Indoor practice space is hard to come by in Frankfort, says Bramble, so for a long time it’s been difficult to get buy-in from players (and their parents) to make frequent trips to Lexington to play — and improve — throughout the winter. When she started coaching eight years ago, Bramble says most of her players held rackets from March to May and that was it; now many girls are playing year-round.
Abney played tennis some growing up but says she didn’t get serious about it until after her first varsity season. She’s thrilled with her personal success since making a greater investment, but even happier that she gets to share the wealth with a coach she adores and a team she’s watched grow three-fold since making that decision.
“The community and the love we have for one another are the reasons why we’re becoming successful,” Abney said.
KHSAA State Tournament
When: Tuesday-Thursday (8 a.m. start Tuesday and Wednesday, 9 a.m. start Thursday)
Where: UK Boone/Downing Tennis Complex (boys on Tuesday); Top Seed Tennis Club (girls on Tuesday); Top Seed Tennis Club (boys and girls Wednesday-Thursday)
Price: $14 daily
More information: bit.ly/3t57pCJ
