Northern Star: Sydney Friedrich

Superior senior learned tennis during pandemic

SUPERIOR, Wis.- As the high school girl’s tennis season begins to wrap up, the Superior Spartans will bid farewell to senior Sydney Friedrich, who went an astounding 17-3 during the regular season in singles competition.

“I’m sad, but I’m also really happy because I’ve had a great season, and that’s all I can ask for right now.” reflected Friedrich. “This season, I was really trying to work on my record, trying to make it better than the past couple of years.”

Head Coach Mark Winkle agrees that Friedrich has vastly improved since her first day competing for the Spartans tennis team. “As a freshman, she just dabbled in varsity a little bit, as we had a really deep team. The next year, she jumped into singles as a sophomore, and competed really well, and each year has progressed…And this year, she’s taken another couple of steps.”

Winkle is mostly used to coaching players who picked up their first tennis racket at a young age. However, Friedrich’s career on the tennis court only started a few years ago.

“Me and my dad played together during Covid because we just found something to do,” Friedrich smiled. “We’d just go every day in the summer, sometimes three times a day. We just learned how to play together and then I just kept playing once the high school season started.”

Sydney is going out as the Spartans’ number one singles player, but what has she improved on since taking up the sport?

“Everything,” She chuckled. “I didn’t even know what I was doing at the beginning, but now I’ve really fallen in love with the sport and I really enjoy it.”

Lily Clark will likely become the next number one singles player for Superior in 2024, and she gives Friedrich plenty of credit for helping her improve on the court.

“She has the motivation to win. If she’s down, she’ll be able to get back up.”

Meanwhile, Coach Winkle is well aware of just how unconventional Friedrich’s rise in singles competition has been, but he credits that towards the hard work she’s put into the sport. “To be an eighth grader — kind of on the court for the first time — and then not even getting to play varsity much until her 10th grade year is traditionally a late start for a top player, but she has worked kind of year-round even though she’s a multi-sport athlete, and it’s paid off.”

Friedrich says she plans on continuing her tennis career collegiately and would like to compete for a college or university close to home.