Daily Journal Girls’ Tennis Player of the Year: Menlo-Atherton’s Ava Martin

“There is no good reason and lots of bad reasons to play Ava every (PAL) match. I wouldn’t do that to other teams,” Sorenson said. “It allows me to play other girls in the No. 1 spot, where those matchups would be challenging to both players.”

But the other part of it is Sorenson wants to give Martin the best challenges she will face on the high school circuit and, more often than not, Martin delivered. She went 8-1 in the during the regular season, dropping only one set in PAL play as she advanced to the PAL singles final. Two weeks later, she became the first PAL player since 2014 to play in the Central Coast Section singles championship match. Sandwiched between, she helped guide the Bears’ team to a semifinal appearance in the CCS team tournament, the first PAL public school team to do so in at least 21 years.

All told, Martin went 14-2 to capture the Daily Journal Girls’ Tennis Player of the Year honor.

Despite all the personal accolades, Martin is still firmly committed to playing for M-A. She’s been prepped since middle school, hitting with then-junior Allison Browne, the Bears’ No. 1 singles player at the time. Martin knew the Bears had a strong program and wanted to be part of that.

“I’ve always wanted to play high school tennis and kind of help the team out. I love it a lot. On M-A, we have such great energy,” Martin said. “I feel like I would do my school a disservice if I didn’t play high school tennis.

“(The team) creates positive energy.”

Despite playing only a handful of matches during the PAL season, they were always against the best the PAL had to offer — and the PAL has a lot to offer. Martin rolled through them, dropping only one set during PAL play, beating Burlingame sophomore Mila Mulready, 4-6, 6-3, (10-2).

““It did add extra pressure because everyone I played this season was really good,” Martin said. “They all gave me competitive matches.”

After an undefeated PAL championship, the Bears went into the CCS team tournament as the No. 5 seed and Martin shined as she helped guide M-A to the semifinals. The Bears rolled to a 6-1 win over Carlmont in the second round and then put together a dominant performance in a 7-0 win over Homestead in the quarterfinals, with Martin winning her match, 6-2, 6-1.

In the semifinals, the Bears took on top-ranked Harker School, which was also the defending CCS champion, beating Menlo during the 2021 spring season. While the Eagles prevailed and went on to win their second straight CCS title, Martin won her No. 1 singles match in three sets over a familiar face. Harker sophomore Natasha Rajaram is Martin’s doubles partner for juniors tournaments so, despite the battle on the court, there was no real animosity.

“We knew we’d stay friends,” Martin said. “We both went out there wanting to … have fun.”

Sorenson is not surprised. He said Martin has the ability to be competitive without making it life and death.

“She’s extremely well adjusted. She never appears to be in a situation where she is urgently aware of the importance of that match. She plays every match like it’s part of the process. It’s just the next test,” Sorenson said. “It was just an example of not having to hate your opponent or treat them as an enemy.”

That attitude was on display during the CCS singles championship match, as Martin earned the CCS Sportsmanship Award for her graciousness during a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 loss to top-seeded Gayathari Krishnan of Cupertino.

Already playing with her backup racket because of a broken string during her semifinal win earlier in the day, Krishnan broke a string during the first set against Martin. Without a third racket, Krishnan was in danger of having to forfeit.

Instead, Martin fetched an extra racket from her bag and gave it Krishnan, who went on to win the CCS title.

Martin wouldn’t have changed anything.

“I actually wasn’t that disappointed,” Martin said. “I would say [Krishnan] is a lot better than me. I was happy I got a set off her. I was happy with the way I played.”

If there was one disappointment to the season, it was not to win the PAL singles championship. Martin had cruised through her first two matches, losing only one game, as she advanced to the final against Burlingame’s Mulready.

Martin didn’t make it to the championship match, getting violently ill the day of and giving Mulready the title in a walkover.

“I was really bummed. I got really sick. I tested negative for COVID,” Martin said. “I was throwing up everywhere. ‘Why this day? Of all the days of the year, why this day (to get sick)?’ I was feeling sick leading up to it, but I didn’t think it would turn that bad so quickly.”

While Martin wanted to add to the PAL title she won as a freshman, Sorenson believes she was more disappointed in the fact that she didn’t get to challenge herself against another talented player.

“To me, she understands why she’s playing,” Sorenson said. “It’s more than just trying to beat so and so on any given day.”