Senior Usha Baublitz has been playing tennis competitively for 6 years and has recently brought home the title of Class AAA Single Counties Champion back to Susquehannock.

“I’ve put a lot of work into this sport through the years,” said Baublitz. “Just this summer, I [made] goals that I wanted to reach, and it’s sort of just a mental thing. I knew what I had to do and how to get there.”

Usha Baublitz concentrates on returning the ball to her opponent. Courtesy of Lifetouch.

Last year, Baublitz battled aluma teammate Katie Wagner for the 2013 county title in which she finished runner up. This year, instead of reliving the past, Baublitz looked ahead.

“I was aiming for beyond counties. Counties was just something I had to get through,” said Baublitz. “I had to focus, obviously, but my goals were beyond it. It kind of was something that came along, and I had to do counties first to get to where I wanted to go.”

Unfortunately, Baublitz lost in the second round of districts stopping her post-season run, but she will always love her favorite sport.

“There’s always going to be someone better than you, so it’s sort of like that constant challenge,” said Baublitz. “There’s always something more you can do, something you can do better. I’ve also met some amazing people through tennis. It’s a sport where it doesn’t really matter where you come from or what you do. Anyone can play [tennis], and [it’s] sort of something you can pick up and do on your own.”

As for her future plans, Baublitz has still yet to decide on whether or not she will continue to play in college.

“Tennis is unlike a lot of other sports. In the U.S. division I schools, 75 percent of athletes for tennis are from other countries.” said Baublitz. “So to play for a [DI] college team it’s a lot harder, not to undermine other sports, but it’s just [that tennis players] compete with kids from all over the world not just in the U.S. I’ll still play. At the moment, I’m just not sure if I’ll play for my college.”

Whether Baublitz continues to further her tennis career or not, she will always have had a very successful high school career.