In past years at Westerville North, the girls tennis team has been one of the smaller and more forgotten teams, which was known for “an easy gym waiver”. Currently, the team is the largest it has ever been, with over forty girls participating.
In 2023, the U.S. Open women’s final between Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka averaged 3.4 million viewers on ESPN, setting a new record for the most-watched women’s final of any tennis major on the network. The support for women’s sports in general has been on the rise since then; the numbers here at North can prove that.
Athletic Director Wes Elifritz often says at class meetings that no one is allowed to graduate and say that there was nothing for them at North. “I take a lot of pride knowing the kids want to connect themselves in a team here,” Elifritz says.
Shira Baumann (2026) has been playing tennis all four years, and she says the program has made a complete turnaround from freshman to senior year. “Freshman year was full of drama, but this year we have tennis ‘families’ (groups of freshmen through seniors) who give gifts and cheer each other on during matches,” Baumann says.
Baumann says she can’t take all the credit, since WALT members, coaches, and senior leaders all worked together to drive the team’s growth in both numbers and morale. “The ladies just kept bringing their friends, and it got to the point where we were worried that we wouldn’t have enough uniforms,” Baumann says.
Even with a losing record, Baumann says she is still proud of the team. Now, she can say, “I am on the Westerville North girls’ tennis team with pride.”
The team has also introduced a new head coach this year, Coach Chellis, and Anna Leslein (2026) says he is already bringing great new things to the team. “Chellis has influenced aspects of the team and has promoted a lot of growth this year,” says Leslein.
Girls tennis is still one of the more or less talked-about fall sports compared to jam-packed Friday night football games. Leslein says, “Without the growth and support for the sport, it would’ve been greatly overshadowed by other fall programs.” The program is definitely being steered in the right direction with the addition of a fresh coat of paint on the courts, new uniforms, and new nets.
New things are great, but the ladies worked hard to raise money for future program materials by running a pickleball fundraiser. In total, there were approximately forty teams signed up to participate, and each team paid $25 to enter.
It’s safe to say the girls tennis program is no longer an excuse to get out of gym class, and it’s moving in the right direction. In future seasons, Elfritz says that Coach Chellis will continue to try his best to make it an inviting and fun atmosphere to join, even if you’ve never picked up a racquet before.
