Dylan Lolofie, Game, Set, Match!

A ball flies across the court after the resounding whack of a racket coming in contact with the outer fabric of the ball. It hits its mark on the opposite side of the net. Encouraging words and comments echo from the other members of the team as they take refuge in the shade provided by the tarps surrounding certain walls of the court.  

The player goes to retrieve a ball from the corner of the court to make another serve. This incredible commitment began around seven years ago when Dylan Lolofie first began to play tennis. 

Lolofie, a freshman at Highland, has been playing tennis since she was only seven years old. Her mother, Lily Lolofie, started her in the sport because her grandmother had played before her. Lily likely never would have guessed that Lolofie would come so far in her abilities. Lolofie worked hard at the sport and clearly proved to be extremely committed and determined, competing in a national competition at just 12 years old and continually competing now in multiple zonal competitions which is an extremely rare opportunity. Lolofie is currently a part of the Highland girls tennis team, a switch from what she has previously experienced.  

“I think the team she loves because tennis is so often an isolated, solo sport. To be able to have people cheering for you and you being able to cheer for their team, and then the boys always come and cheer on the girls’ team even though their season hasn’t started, and I just think that whole team experience is so good for tennis players,” Lily said. 

The team does not only help Lolofie, Lolofie also helps the team. She definitely gives back the sportsmanship, love and support she receives from her other teammates. Being used to competing on her own did not at all deter her transition into playing with a team; she loves it and wants to do right by the rest of her team. 

“I just know that my team is just always there for me and they’re always supportive, but it’s also a little scary because I always want to do good for them,” Lolofie said. 

Lolofie is not only a committed player with a big heart and great love for her team, she is also a committed player with exceptional talent. When Lolofie first came on to the Highlands team she immediately took over the top girls’ varsity spot. By seeing the current progress of her skill now, imagine what she will be able to accomplish by her senior year. 

“The addition of Dylan to our Highland team has made a huge difference in our ability to compete with other top teams. She has taken us from one of the bottom teams and helped our team work hard to become one of the top teams in the state,” Highland tennis coach Jeanine Elsholz said. 

Many sacrifices are required to become such a great athlete and these sacrifices are not always apparent to those outside of the battle, but Lolofie and her family experience these struggles every day. Being a competitor in national tournaments obviously entails a decent amount of travel. This causes many athletes who compete while attending school to miss large portions of their education and often fall behind, but Lolofie does not fit this description. She expects it to be hard and readies herself for each challenge she faces, including keeping up with what she misses while traveling. The pressures and time commitment of this sport does not deter Lolofie from achieving her goals and reaching her dreams even if it may be hard. 

“I probably wouldn’t change the life style I have right now.  Sometimes it’s a little bit hard, but it’s also really fun,” Lolofie said. 

At a young age being in national competitions while attending school and playing on a team aside from personal competitions holds a lot of pressure. It would be expected for such young players to fall apart under the stress, this young athlete, however, once again will not do the expected. 

“I’d say almost all the time she handles it so gracefully and sometimes I’ll think she did amazing and she’ll be a little bit hard on herself, but I think that’s just because she’s really passionate about it,” Lily said. 

Lolofie like any athlete, always wants to do her absolute best and even when she does, may think she can do better, it is this mentality that carries her so far. During one of Lolofies matches against East Lolofie had to face the battle of keeping calm on the court. The sun was out, there was no shade, and the cement floor of the court only intensified the already stifling heat, to top it off Llofies oponent was in the lead. As time passed she continued to show her frustration, increasingly so as her oponent continue earning more points. She needed to focus, and her coach saw this.  

Elsholz saw Lolofie’s frustration and came over to try and help. After some encouragement from her coach Lolofie had all the motivation she needed to continue her match with her complete focus and competitive intent. She won a battle that many older and more experienced athletes often loose on television. The battle was that of good sportsmanship.  

It is likely due to all these qualities along with being a top player that she helped her team get to state this past week. The tennis team and Highland’s addition of Lolofie as a player has done great things for Highland’s tennis standing.