You wouldn’t know it by looking at her, and you wouldn’t guess it from talking to her. She’s quiet. Humble.
But Mt. Vernon No. 1 singles player Alaina Nelson is a bulldog on the court. At least according to her coach.
He would know. He’s been around Nelson for a long time.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
After all, Nelson’s journey into tennis started with Gabe Muterspaugh. In elementary school, she started attending tennis camps the Mt. Vernon coach runs.
The upbeat atmosphere and the fun practices were enough to draw her in. She said after attending the camps, she knew tennis was something she just wanted to do.
When asked what drew her to competitive tennis, she was quick to answer: Gabe.
“It’s pretty cool that you watch her grow, watch her get better,” Muterspaugh said. “If you look at her, she’s not a beast physically, but she finds a way. She epitomizes everything we want as a Marauder tennis player — confident in yourself but humble on the court. Win with class, lose with class.”
Now a senior, Nelson has been a workhorse for a very successful Marauders team during her varsity career. Since Nelson joined the team as a freshman, the Marauders have won the county championship every year.
They’ve won a sectional title every year of Nelson’s career, too. Individually, she has never lost at a sectional.
From tennis camps to senior leader, the success started early and came often for Nelson. As a freshman, she won eight matches filling in on the varsity team. She was honorable mention all-state her sophomore and junior year. She’s nearing the top five in career wins at Mt. Vernon.
Despite the success, she stays grounded and keeps putting in the work.
“It starts with Alaina up at the top,” Muterspaugh said. “Sometimes when you’re the No. 1, you’ve got that mentality of ‘I’m better than you.’ It was never like that. You check your ego at the door, you go to work, and good things happen.”
Nelson knows there’s a certain level of expectation and responsibility that comes with being a No. 1. She’s been in that position for two years and has excelled there.
“I feel like I need to set the example as No. 1 singles,” Nelson said. “Sometimes you can’t always pull the win out, but you’ve got to try your best.”
Her team looks to her to set the tone early in matches. Mt. Vernon has several underclassmen getting regular varsity time this year, so having a leader with the right mindset is important, Muterspaugh said.
In an April 27 match against Centerville, the Marauders offered up two freshmen — Lexi Shelton and Lydia Ruegsegger. Ruegsegger has been playing at No. 2 most of this year.
Those young players see Nelson’s work ethic and are inspired by it, her coach said. There’s a sort of trickle-down effect he sees; that leadership finds its way onto the tennis court but also other sports Nelson’s teammates play.
“That’s the Marauder mentality we want to have around here,” Muterspaugh said.
If things go according to plan, this will be Nelson’s last year of competitive tennis. A two-sport athlete at Mt. Vernon — she also plays at center-mid in soccer — she said she didn’t want to make a big commitment to sports when heading to a Division 1 college.
Once she graduates from Mt. Vernon, Nelson heads to Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee, where she plans to major in marketing.
If she plays soccer or tennis, it will be for fun, not competition.
For now, there is more work to do. Having tasted success at the sectional level, Nelson said she wants another sectional title. Her coach said he’s interested to see how far she can go in the state tournament.
Nelson wants to have fun this year, enjoying her time with teammates she’s known for years and that have a strong bond.
“I love my teammates,” Nelson said. “We’ve become really close because of tennis. It’s been really great having them there, being able to practice with them, talk to them every day.”
That closeness is something one of her freshman teammates, Ruegsegger, sees on a daily basis. She said the team connects despite class — they don’t see one another as freshman, sophomore, junior, senior — they are simply a team.
A lot of that starts from the top, from the leaders like Nelson and her fellow upperclassmen.
There’s an obvious culture of success surrounding Mt. Vernon’s tennis program. Nelson has developed inside of that culture and helped contribute to it.
Her success, along with her fellow seniors on the team, is helping shape the future of the Marauders tennis program.
“What I’m learning from them is to fight. Fight for your spot,” Ruegsegger said. “Be nice off the court and then kill ’em on the court.”
That sounds like a bulldog’s approach.
That sounds like the Marauder mentality.
