Featured Freshman Athlete – Diana Anos

Sydney Santiago 

Diana Anos is the featured freshman athlete. The Announcer looked back at her first season on the tennis team including her struggles and her many accomplishments.

According to girl’s frosh-soph tennis coach, Coach Veldman, Anos is not only a spectacular athlete, but also a “wonderful team player who is lots of fun to be around.” Coach goes on to say that Anos truly showed her incredible talent every time she stepped out onto the court to play first singles; she only lost once in regular conference play during the season ending conference tournament and took second place. 

Her successes of the season came because she never gave up, ran for every ball, and always played with great consistency. Coach Veldman says Anos’ best plays came against her toughest competition. However, there’s more to Anos’ story.

Anos was no stranger to tennis when she joined the team at Nazareth; She had already been playing tennis for four years. During Ano’s time on the team, however, she found that her tennis skills and strategic play has improved. 

Anos’ time playing tennis has not been without struggle. She states that one of her biggest struggles during the season was a foot injury that occurred the week before the conference finals. After much perseverance as well as daily visits to the athletic trainer, Anos was able to play with minimal pain just in time for finals. 

Anos had to find a balance between her commitments to the team and her academic responsibilities. Anos claims that although it was difficult at first, she found that the adjustment came as the season progressed. She did homework and studied during the activity period and before her late practices in order to stay on track. 

Through and through, Anos describes her first year as a Nazareth tennis player to be a very memorable experience that left her happy to be part of a team, representing her school with great coaches, teammates, and the opportunity to play competitively. 

Anos added a very impactful piece of advice for anyone aspiring to play tennis: “I would say to practice as much as possible, and to just enjoy playing the sport. Loving what you do is an important part of improving, because if you have the  passion, then you would want to improve. Also, to be aware mentally. While tennis skills are important, strategy and a strong mental endurance all play a role in success on the court.”