Sports
Victoria Ondo: This Tennis Star Knows How to Beat Her Opponent
Victoria Ondo, a senior tennis ace at Oconee County High School, uses her ability to recognize and capitalize on her opponent's weakness to lead her to a perfect record thus far.
It is a true testament to an athlete’s knowledge of the game and overall talent when he or she is able to pinpoint his or her opponent’s weakness and capitalize on it.
Victoria Ondo, a senior tennis player at , has developed this trade and utilized it to lead her to a season record of 21-0 as the #1 singles player on the team.
Until now, Oconee County has never had a female tennis player at #1 with that kind of record, according to Dan Gruetter, Ondo’s high school tennis coach.
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“This year she has had a break through year,” Gruetter said. “She developed the ability to understand very quickly in a match what is working for her game and what is not.”
This ability to adjust your game during a match is something that a lot of tennis players, and athletes in general, strive for and work toward most of their career.
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It takes an extreme amount of concentration to recognize and then alter your play to ensure that you will come out on top.
Concentration is something that Gruetter says is one of Ondo’s best attributes.
“She has tremendous concentration and can play each point as if it were the last point of the match,” Gruetter said.
In addition to being able to adjust her game accordingly and exploiting her opponent’s Achilles heel, ’s dedication and love of the game translates into quality on the court, according to Gruetter.
The most successful players are often the ones that are coachable and are willing to listen to advice to improve their game.
Gruetter says this is Ondo’s best attribute as a player, adding that “she is always trying to get better and when I [tell] her to do or try something she puts that into play immediately.”
Ondo doesn't just Ace on the court, but also in the classroom as standout student.
“She is the consummate student/athlete with terrific grades and limitless possibilities for improvement in tennis,” Gruetter said.
Ondo plans to take her hard work, dedication, love of the game, and impeccable talent to Georgia Southwestern next year to compete at the collegiate level.