Just four weeks ago, Astrid Cardenas and Emma Watts were unable to compete for the Joplin High School girls tennis team.
Neither player took the court when the Eagles faced Ozark on Sept. 15 or Republic on Sept. 17, as Cardenas was sidelined with a nagging back injury, while Watts was dealing with an illness.
With that, competing at the state tournament wasn’t exactly a given for the Eagles’ No. 1 doubles team.
But one month later, Cardenas and Watts have overcome adversity in order to represent Joplin at the MSHSAA Class 3 state tennis championships on Thursday at the Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield. Cardenas and Watts qualified for state by finishing second at the district tournament.
A junior, Cardenas is making her second straight state trip after qualifying in singles a year ago.
“I didn’t think I was going to get to go back this year because of my injury, so it’s awesome to be able to go back-to-back and get that state experience again,” Cardenas said before a recent practice.
A sophomore who is now 100 percent healthy, Watts is looking forward to her first trip to state.
“We lost some of our season, which was super disappointing, so I’m excited and super pumped up to compete at state,” Watts said. “Astrid is great to play with and we get along great. We’re just ready to go.”
Cardenas and Watts are 14-5 in doubles matches this season, but Joplin coach Jeff Williams noted that record is a bit deceiving.
“They’re 13-1 since they’ve come back to the lineup healthy,” Williams noted. “We’ve got two pretty solid players with Astrid and Emma. Coach (Richard) Perry has done a great job working with them. They are still learning the doubles strategy, but they’re improving daily. Hopefully they’ll have a good showing at state. Coming home with a medal would be really nice.”
Last year’s top singles player in the Central Ozark Conference, if not the entire region, Cardenas was forced to miss a large part of the regular season due to back issues.
“This season’s been tough,” Cardenas said. “I love to play and I physically can’t move like I could last year. It was tough sitting out because I really wanted to help the team.”
Cardenas added she’s still not 100 percent healthy.
“I’m getting there,” said Cardenas, who played only a handful of singles matches this fall. “I’m still doing physical therapy and getting shots to help my hips and my back.”
Cardenas noted she should be able to use last year’s state experience to her advantage this time around.
“Last year was exciting, but I was very nervous,” Cardenas said. “It was my first year there and I had no idea what it was like to play against such experienced players. It was a good experience and I think I learned a lot from it. I think I can handle the pressure better this year.”
The Eagles’ duo have finished the season strong. Cardenas and Watts captured the No. 1 doubles title at the COC tournament before finishing as the Class 3 District 6 runner-up to qualify for the state tourney.
Cardenas and Watts meet St. Joseph’s Academy’s Abigail Gaines and Elizabeth Choate in Thursday morning’s opening round of the double-elimination state event.
Cardenas said the keys to success are simple.
“Tennis in general is a very mental sport,” Cardenas said. “We have to keep each other hyped up and if we miss a point, we just have to move on to the next one and not think about the last one. I think we can do very well and win a few matches. And it should be a good experience for us.”
Williams said he has the goals set high for his program’s standouts.
“We’ve told the girls to not worry about where they get seeded or who they’re playing,” Williams said. “They should go in with the expectation that they can perform well, play well and that will give themselves a chance to advance. You’ve got to win one on Thursday. I think the girls are going in with good attitudes. They’ve been practicing hard and we’re hoping for the best. And after her injury, Astrid is playing as well as she’s played all season.”
Of course, regardless of what happens in Springfield, the Eagles can feel good about ending the season alongside the state’s best. A month ago, they weren’t even able to compete.
And, as Williams noted, both players will be back on the court next fall.
“We’re going to come back even better next year,” Watts said.
CLASS 3 STATE DOUBLES BRACKET: https://www.mshsaa.org/Activities/DoublesTournament.aspx?alg=49&class=3&year=2020
