Rylee Michna has been a bright spot for the Taylor High School Tennis program all season long, and can now say she is a state champion.
Michna dominated at the state tournament as a freshman defeating girls from Boerne, Lindale and Canyon Randall. On her way to the state championship trophy, she only lost five games during that stretch.
Michna is a big name in the tennis world because her brother, Brayden, is ranked number one in the state.
“We definitely have a friendly rivalry, but I look up to him, and I think he cried when I won the state championship,” Michna said while chuckling. “My mom got sick right before, so my brother kind of became my coach, and he is a great coach. I am just grateful to have him as my brother because we have been siblings forever, but I see him as my best friend. He’s my number one anywhere, like I would chose him for anything.”
Michna said it has been an exciting experience since winning the state. She said the entire town seemed to have congratulated her and it has been really special to see the support from her hometown.
“It’s really cool, especially being from a small town, everyone has told me congratulations and it’s like everyone knows me right now,” Michna said.
Michna said she is not really used to getting all of this attention, but she is thankful for the people of Taylor who supported of her.
As a freshman, Michna has the opportunity to grow her game even more and possibly add more trophies to her collection. She said she likes her current training schedule, and is taking an approach most athletes take when it comes to training.
“I’m just going to stay on my same training regimen. I practice every night, at least two hours a night,” Michna said. “I just want to build on my game more. I do want to improve certain aspects of my game, learning how I want to strategize to a point, and I think doing that will be able to let me do this at a high level for a good couple years.”
While training for a sport can become mundane, Michna has found the beauty in the sport and found ways to make sure she is enjoying what she is doing.
“When you hit the ball just right and it hits just inbounds it’s just such a beautiful shot and it makes me feel good,” Michna said.
Standing at the top of the mountain in girls’ high school tennis, Michna remains hungry and even though the season is over Michna is still training and gearing up for another run next season.
