When Emily Lopez takes the court this weekend, her obvious goal will be to win and advance.
But, unlike many of her opponents, the Amphitheater sophomore tennis player has different long-term aspirations – the idea of playing professional sports is not the ultimate goal.
“My goal is to play college tennis,” Lopez said. “I really like playing tennis but I really want to do something different with my life.
“I am debating going into the medical field but I’m also into music too; I just don’t want my parents to have to worry about paying for college.”
When Lopez finally does head off to college in a few years, there’s a chance she’ll have at least one state championship to her name. She made a splash at the girls Division III singles state tournament last season, advancing to the quarterfinals as a freshman.
CLICK HERE to view Friday's first-round matchups in the singles and doubles tournaments with Southern Arizona players.
Now Lopez holds the No. 3 seed heading in the tournament this year, which gets underway Friday at Paseo Racquet Center in Glendale. The goal will be playing again next weekend, as she did last year.
“She is a fantastic player,” Amphi coach Dick Bemis said. “I can count on her, no matter what the score is, that she is going to fight. She is a real winner; she really really wants to win.
“She’s a good kid and the other kids feed off of her. They see the competitiveness and the drive which helps.”
Bemis is in his first season with the Panthers but he came in knowing plenty about Lopez: He was kindergarten physical education teacher at Holloway Elementary School
Lopez began playing competitive tennis in the sixth grade and has fallen deeper in love with the sport since then.
“When I was younger my parents would put me in different sports,” Lopez said. “I did dance, gymnastics, soccer and I just kept asking to play tennis.”
Along with the time that Lopez spends with the Amphi tennis team, she also has private lessons that provide extra help and skill.
There are also many sources of confidence and support for Lopez the first being her parents, Antonio and Jessica, who attend all of her matches.
Perhaps Lopez’s biggest inspiration and close confidant is her sister Kassandra, who went on to become a full scholarship athlete on Utah’s gymnastics team.
Lopez believes having her sister as a source of information is key to her future success.
“I have someone to look up to,” Lopez said. “If I have any questions about college she can help me because her college career is almost done.
“She encourages me too, she’s my sister and understands me more than my parents do.”
Having faced the state championship tournament as a freshman, Lopez remembers the mixture of emotions she faced going into that competition.
“I was excited and scared, because I was afraid I wasn’t going to do well and it was my first time,” Lopez said. “I always felt that someone was going to beat me because I was a freshman.”
However, now with the experience of having played in the state tournament Lopez believes that she is better prepared for this year’s tournament.
“It feels much more comfortable.” Lopez said. “At the beginning of the season I wasn’t comfortable with my strokes, but now I feel much better with them than I ever did as a freshman.”
