Kentridge High senior Jessica Lam’s patience and ability to lob the ball on the tennis court have earned her a reputation in the South Puget Sound League North Division.
“She’s feared by opponents,” said coach Vince Howard. “She’s gonna get the ball back. She rarely misses.”
Lam recounted a teammate’s story about a tournament Lam was unable to attend. An opponent mistook one of Lam’s teammates for Lam.
“She (the opponent) never came to the net, because she knew I was going to lob it over there,” Lam said.
Lam, a two-time district qualifier, started playing tennis in seventh grade.
“My mom said, ‘You need to exercise. I’m going to put you in this program,’” Lam said.
Lam wasn’t very good when she started playing tennis, often hitting the ball outside of the fence, but she was determined to get better.
“I cannot disappoint my coach or my mom,” Lam said of her motivation to improve. “You just gotta work hard at it.”
Lam attributes her success on the court primarily to one thing.
“Really patience is the key,” she said. “If you get angry on the court you are going to miss shots.… If you play it out with a calm mindset you can win any game. You just have to be chill.”
Lam tries to outlast her opponents on the court.
“Her matches will often last twice as long,” Howard said.
Howard recalled Lam’s sophomore year when she faced then-freshman Kathryn Araki of Kentwood in a subdistrict match.
“They had a marathon match,” he said. “It just got to the point where Jessica was wearing her out. It was a landmark match for Jessica.”
Both Lam and Howard would like to see Lam qualify for the Class 4A state tournament. Howard said Lam may be paired up with fellow senior Christine Ly as a doubles team for the state tournament.
“They make an unusual challenge for their opponents,” Howard said.
Where Lam excels in consistency, Ly is more of a power player.
Lam, who is the team’s co-captain, is someone her teammates can look up to, Howard said.
“I’m just hoping everyone has fun and doesn’t regret doing the sport,” Lam said.
Last, year the Chargers finished third in their division. Kentridge lost to Kentwood Monday, bringing the Chargers’ conference record to 4-2, second behind division-leading Kentwood, with a 6-1 record.
Howard hopes the team’s success will carryover to next year, but it will take some rebuilding. There are six seniors who start on the Chargers varsity team.
“We are losing a lot of good players,” said Howard, who added there are several good prospects on the junior varsity team.
But Kentridge’s tennis program is about more than excelling on the court, the coach said.
One graduating senior from each of the girls and boys teams who lettered in tennis is awarded a $500 Bob Armstrong Tennis Scholarship through the Kent Community Foundation each year.
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