At 14, area girl already a tennis standout
Kyrene Corridor resident Lynley Wasson, daughter of Tom and Melly Wasson, has had a busy and successful year of tennis. The 14-year-old Corona del Sol High School freshman is ranked number one in the Phoenix area and number three in the Southwest zone by the United States Tennis Assn.
Lynley has been a member of the Southwest zone team ever since starting to compete in USTA-sanctioned tournaments.
Two years ago she was one of 10 girls selected to play for the 12-year-olds team in Tucson, where she won the number two spot. She also was among winners of matches in Florida, beating out competitors from California, Texas and states in the Midwest.
Lynley’s team placed third in Florida, remarkable because those matches are played on clay courts, with which players from this region are unfamiliar.
Over the summer, she played in championship games in Florida, California, Georgia and New Mexico.
Lynley says she enjoys tennis so much that she plays in other events not related to her ranking. She has played for the Ahwatukee 18s USA team for the past two years, last year being part of the team that won a sectional competition in Texas.
Lynley plays every Fathers Day in the Family Doubles Tournament in Sedona, and she and her older sister, Whitney, have won the sister-sister event three times. She and her older brother, Devin, played together for the first time this year, making it to the semi-finals in the brother-sister division.
She has received the 2001 Phoenix Area Tennis Assn.’s Penn Sportsmanship Award and the Southwest Team’s Sportsmanship Award, both of which she says she considers as important as her tournament wins.
Lynley attended Aprende Middle School, where she maintained a 3.8 grade point average for three years and received Presidential Awards for academics and physical fitness.
-- Contributed by Tom Wasson
