NEWTON, N.C. — It was quite the wild ride during the 2020-21 prep sports season for every athlete involved as alterations in the schedules were made due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols put in place.
Student-athletes had to compete in their chosen sports at odd times of the school year in North Carolina. For instance, traditional fall sports like football, boys soccer and girls tennis were pushed to late winter-early spring, among other changes to the schedule.
With the way the system worked during the season, athletes who typically competed in multiple sports had to decide which sports he or she wanted to play as there was some overlap from one sport to the next.
This was the case for Fred T. Foard High rising senior Alexis Wolgemuth. During her first two years as a student-athlete with the Lady Tigers, she played three sports: tennis, basketball and soccer.
However, her 2020-21 sports season was very peculiar to say the least as her basketball season began in January, soccer moved ahead to March and her tennis season changed to April.
To make matters even more crazy through all of this movement and chaos, she actually decided to compete on the varsity football team as the team’s kicker, as well.
Even though it added more to her plate, she relished the opportunity to become the second female kicker in Foard history to score a point, and she achieved this goal.
“If I had to describe my year in sports in one word, I would say: busy. The most challenging part was when sports overlapped that had never conflicted in previous years. For example, one day I went to soccer practice the day before a playoff game for about 30 minutes before changing into my tennis uniform and running over to a tennis match literally five minutes before it started,” she said.
“Soccer and tennis have never overlapped in the past so that was something different that I had to work through. I’ve never done football before but that also overlapped with soccer in this “Covid year.” There was one day where soccer and football both had a game. Within a 30 minute time span, I scored a goal in the soccer game and kicked an extra point for the football team. That was probably the most stressful day since I was already painfully slow at putting on the football pads and to do it about 10 minutes before game time did not make it any easier.”
She said that sports is something she really enjoys participating in and said she would rather have a busy schedule than a lot of free time.
“I think the excitement of all the sports really helped me get through it. I was having several games a week so there was always something to look forward to,” said Wolgemuth.
In fact, she recently finished her tennis season on June 26 in which she finished with an unblemished season (9-0 in singles draw and 9-0 in doubles draw during the regular season alone). She competed at the No. 1 singles slot for the Lady Tigers for the third-straight season in the regular season.
Known for being a two-time doubles 2A state champion, Wolgemuth decided that her junior season was the best time for her to continue the singles draw route in the postseason.
“I’ve always wanted to go in singles. I honestly came in my freshman year not even thinking about doubles. But, my main goal was to win a state championship, and I really didn’t care whether it was in doubles or singles,” she said. “After weighing my options freshman year, I decided that I had the best shot going in doubles. I had a great doubles partner in Emily Campbell, who was a senior that year, and we were able to win it all. She graduated, so I basically came into sophomore year thinking I’d go in singles.
“But, I had the opportunity to play with Hannah Cummings who was absolutely amazing, and it made more sense to go in doubles again. So, I came into this year having no clue what I would decide to do. This year, my regular season doubles partner [Claire Boger] was a strong singles player as well though so it made more sense for us to both go in singles.”
Due to her individual success, she was awarded the Northwestern Foothills 2A Conference Tennis Player of the Year for the third consecutive season (also winning this honor during the 2019 and 2018 seasons). She was also a first-team HighSchoolOT.com all-state selection this year and was given this honor on July 2.
During the 2021 North Carolina High School Athletic Association 2A West Regionals beginning on June 18, Wolgemuth entered as the No. 1 seed and earned a first-round bye (after winning the Northwestern Foothills 2A Conference tournament). On that same day, she competed in the second round against Lake Norman Charter’s Charlotte Marinier, defeating her in straight sets, 6-0 and 6-0.
Then came the semifinals in which she ousted Newton-Conover’s Alexa Allison, 6-0 and 6-2, on June 19. In the Regional final, she completed her stint with the win over Hendersonville’s Olivia Pursley (No. 2 seed) in consecutive sets, 6-2 and 6-0.
Qualifying for States, she entered Cary Tennis Park on June 25 in first-round action against Greene Central’s Hinson Britt. She defeated her in straight sets, 6-1 and 6-1. Later that day, in the the 2A State quarterfinals, she outgunned Ashe County’s Elizabeth Wallace for the straight set win, 6-1 and 6-1.
Resting up that night, Wolgemuth came back out on Saturday morning (June 26) and battled Washington High’s Mary Emma Holscher, defeating her, 6-1 and 6-0.
Essentially getting through the field at States pretty reasonably, she would be in a different mindset entirely once she faced off against Oak Groves’s Jessica Fuchs in the 2A Singles Draw State Championship. She had her work cut out for her, but she ultimately pulled out the victory even after losing her only set of the tournament, 6-1, 1-6 and 6-4.
“During the tournament I was super excited. I knew I had a chance at winning it, but I also knew that there was a lot of quality players in the draw and that I needed to play well. I wasn’t too nervous; I had done absolutely everything I could to prepare, and I was just planning on going out there and doing my best and trusting in God for the rest,” she said. “Coach Shawn Miller and I also had a clear strategy going into every match and was pretty focused and committed to executing it. I think that helped a lot as I was able to focus on specific things in the matches rather than my emotions.
“Initially, I was pretty shocked. I never doubted that I could win, but after an almost two and a half hour match against an extremely good opponent in the final [Jessica Fuchs], I was just sort of like “Wait, it’s actually over?” I think pretty much the next day the excitement hit me. I’ve always wanted to win a singles title and doing so in my first year going in singles is something I’m very excited about.”
Wolgemuth said that competing in singles and doubles sometimes feels like two completely different sports. She said that there’s different strategies and even different shots for one to take.
“So, it was a pretty big transition from doubles to singles,” she said. “In doubles, half of the game is communicating and strategizing with your partner rather than solely to tennis skill. The pressure is also less since basically half of the match is out of my control. I’ve been thankful to have two great doubles partners that handled the pressure of regionals and states tremendously well.
“Going in singles, I knew that all of that pressure would be on me. I wasn’t too worried about handling it; I’ve played in so many sport situations by now, I’m used to the pressure. In the tournament, especially at states, I knew that I needed to play my best tennis possible to win. Sometimes in doubles, I can get away with being inconsistent or just not playing my best since there’s someone else on the court who can make up for my mistakes. But in singles, I’m all alone.”
Wolgemuth’s head tennis coach Shawn Miller said that he believes she is a very gifted athlete:
“She is also the most mentally composed and mentally tough athlete I have coached. Her composure allows her to avoid peaks and valleys in the course of a match. In the state singles final, she did not get overly excited or emotional when she went up 4-1 in the third set. She also didn’t panic when she lost the next three games when her opponent played outstanding tennis because she was at a point where she had nothing to lose.
“Her mental toughness showed up when, after losing three straight games in the third set of the state finals, she stayed focused and won a pivotal game that went to at least three deuce points to go up 5-4 and eventually win 6-4. There are lots of reasons Alexis is a great athlete and more importantly a great person, but these are the things that first come to mind.”
Wolgemuth has grown as an athlete in all of the sports she has competed in, but she said she also feels she has improved from a leadership standpoint:
“As a rising senior, I’m now the seasoned veteran in all these sports. It’s now my turn to help out all of the younger athletes coming up. I think there’s also a level of maturity that comes with it. As a freshman, you feel like high school is never going to end. But now, I’m at a point where I can see the end, and I’m trying to enjoy everything that I have left in high school.”
After proving that anything is indeed possible with a year like she had, Wolgemuth said she still has a couple of goals in mind.
“In tennis, I would love to close it out and get my 4th state championship. I had hoped to get my 2,000(th) point in basketball but that’s going to be difficult,” she said. “With the shortened season last year and lack of games, it’s probably unlikely. Another goal I have is to make the playoffs in all of my sports.
“In tennis, we’ve made the dual state tournament the past couple years so I would love to help the team get back. In basketball, we made (the) playoffs my freshman year and have narrowly missed my sophomore and junior years. I’d really like to get back there too. For soccer, we’ve made some great playoff runs so I’d like to see us get even further next year.”
