Girls' Tennis Player of the Year: Ahlstrom getting bigger and stronger

Any coach can be forgiven for not remembering every result for their players during a given season. Menlo School tennis coach Bill Shine is no different. When asked about the Homestead player who beat his No. 1 singles player in the Central Coast Section team playoffs, he couldn’t remember.

But if she beat Menlo sophomore Addie Ahlstrom, “She must have been good,” Shine said.

That’s because only two seasons into her high school career, Ahlstrom has already established herself as the top player in the county. She lost only two matches to CCS players this season — Homestead and St. Francis. She waltzed through West Bay Athletic League play, going 7-0 without losing a set, and helped the Knights extend their league winning streak to 258 matches in a row as they won their 25th straight league title and earning San Mateo Daily Journal Girls’ Tennis Player of the Year honors in the process.

“Playing No. 1 on a Menlo team, with our schedule, you’re going to play someone decent each time,” Shine said. “She’s getting stronger and she’s only going to get better.”

Ahlstrom, a sophomore, lost only five matches this season — the two aforementioned CCS matches and three others against some of the top teams outside of the section. She went 2-2 in her singles matches as the host-Knights finished sixth in the Golden Gate Classic in early September. She won her first two matches against opponents from the section, Monta Vista and St. Ignatius, before dropping two in a row to players from Mira Costa and Piedmont.

“[The Golden Gate tournament] is really strong and getting stronger,” Shine said. “It’s as close to a state tournament as you can get.”

Ahlstrom then opened WBAL play by winning her first two matches at love before going 2-1 at the Point Loma Classic in San Diego at the end of September. She lost in straight sets to Dana Hills but rebounded to dominate her next two matches, losing only four games in wins over players from Westview and Pacific Palisades.

“It’s nice to be an underclassman. There’s not as much pressure,” Ahlstrom said. “But having good wins and gaining respect is rewarding.”

It’s been a quick rise for Ahlstrom, who was playing at No. 2 singles as a freshman before assuming the No. 1 spot over the second half of the season following a series of challenge matches with then-No. 1 Taylor Gould.

Shine credited Gould for making the transition an easy one.

“Taylor, being the good teammate she is, she had no problem with it,” Shine said. “It takes a big person. [Gould] was the captain and the No. 1 the year before and to have a freshman come in (and take her position) … But [Gould] was [Ahlstrom’s] biggest fan.”

After watching Ahlstrom the first half of her freshman year, he knew it would only be a matter of time before she assumed the top spot.

“The more I saw her play and compete, and how she handled the pressure, and how she played better the better her opponents were (I knew she would be a No. 1 player),” Shine said. “She worked her way up to No. 1 (last season) and she handled it really well.”

It shouldn’t come as too much of surprise Ahlstrom has already ascended to the top of the Menlo ladders. A multisport athlete growing up, Ahlstrom learned to be competitive playing with a competitive family.

“Sports have always been an important part of my life,” Ahlstrom said. “Growing up with parents who were serious athletes, wanting to win is something I’ve developed over the years.”

Coming into this season, Shine said Ahlstrom had a growth spurt that saw her grow from about 5-1 to about 5-7 this season. Combined with increasing her strength, Shine watched Ahlstrom grow even more as a player this season.

“She definitely had to get a bigger second serve. … Last year, the stronger players picked on her serve. Now they can’t. We also worked on getting her to where she was more aggressive coming to the net and dictating the point,” Shine said. “I think she wears down opponents both mentally and physically. Nothing really seems to bother her. … She can stay out there forever.”

After her loss to Dana Hills in the Point Loma Classic in late September, Ahlstrom did not lose again until the CCS team tournament in November. She lost both her CCS matches — in addition to the loss against Homestead, Ahlstrom also lost to the No. 1 player from St. Francis — but Ahlstrom expects to be playing — and beating — the best CCS has to offer over the next couple of years.

“I actually have seen those players in tournaments quite often. I’ve played them before,” Ahlstrom said. “I definitely think I have a chance to catch up to them (the top players in the section). I think I’m making good strides.”