Who's Hot?
Prince Hot 100 List - April '15
by Amelia Thomas, 20 April 2015
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While 2015 Spring Signing Week has come to a close, junior tennis tournament play is just gearing up across the country. There are many opportunities this spring for players to show off their skills. We caught up with a few players who amped up their games in this month's Prince Hot 100 Lists.
The Prince Hot 100 lists are published each month, and the April Hot 100 lists feature the one hundred boys and girls who most improved their rankings during the month of March. You can find out more about the Prince Hot 100 - and how the lists are calculated - by reading here.
The latest lists, published last week, are available here:
We visited with a few of these top performers...
Roundup
Sasha Cayward (Mercer Island, Wash.)
Four-star sophomore Sasha Cayward credits her recent growth to better time management. "My improved ranking is because I am using my time wisely and efficiently during practice," she said. "I come to practice with a set of tasks and goals that I want to work on and improve."
Cayward practices with top-ranked boys in the Pacific North West section. "Playing against them has helped me to improve my consistency, to play offensively and to take any opportunity presented to me to finish the point," she said.
The Mercer Island, Wash., native also credits her coach, Brian Park of the Sandpoint Tennis Center, for helping her with her mental game.
"Park has helped me to understand the meaning of working on the task at hand. During my matches, I try to focus on my tasks and forget about the score," she said. "I have learned how to stay positive, even when I am starting to get frustrated, and to turn negative energy into positive energy by voicing a 'C'mon' or 'Let's go' after an intense point."
In fact, Cayward states that her mental game is one of her greatest strengths. "My strengths are my mental toughness and aggressiveness. Every match, I try to play my heart out and give it my all," she said. "Even if I am not playing my best game, I will try to find something that works well and do it over and over again."
At five-foot-eleven, Cayward describes herself as an offensive baseliner. "With my height and power, I like to control the point and then step into the court when I get an opportunity, open up the court with angles and finish the point," she said. "I have greatly improved my footwork, taking balls on the rise and coming to the net to put away the volley. Something I am constantly working on is shot placement, snapping my wrist over the ball and using my height to my advantage."
All these factors came together last month for Cayward, who won both tournaments she competed in, the Tacoma Lawn End of Winter Championship and a Level 4 at Vancouver Tennis Center. The four-star player went undefeated in March with an 8-0 record.
Cayward's good experience with her high school team has her thinking about the future of her game. Her team at Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart won the Washington State Championship last year.
"I love supporting my teammates and contributing to our success. I am looking for a college where I will be academically challenged, and where my tennis game will improve," she said. "It is important to me that the students challenge and support each other both in the classroom and on the tennis court, enabling each other to grow as a student and as a player."
Cayward also enjoys significant support from her parents, which has greatly influenced her game. "Having my parents and my coaches encouraging me in every step of the way, during the good and the bad, has helped me become a better player," she said. "It has been a real game changer in my physical, mental and overall tennis game.