Olivia Hefley and Sara Shelhamer, Amarillo High tennis
On the court: The talented duo won the UIL Class 5A gold in girls doubles as they defeated a team from Frisco Wakeland, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. In that final match, they raced out to a 5-1 lead in the third set before fending off a furious rally as Shelhamer served for the match. For Shelhamer, this year marked the third straight time that she has made the state tournament, including a silver medal in girls singles last year. The Sandie netters were an incredible 39-1 on the season as they were not only state champions but district and regional champions as well.
Coach Cody Crouch: “What an incredible accomplishment it was for these two to win state at the 5A level considering the competition they had to face out of the Frisco area. It was such a pleasure to get to coach them and see them walk off the court as state champions. Sara is a such a natural born leader. She’s like a second coach on the court with incredible instincts but the mental part of her game is second to none. That helped Olivia focus on just playing the game and she played it amazingly. She’s not the biggest player out there but her ability to knock the fuzz out of the ball with each groundstroke was something to marvel at. As the season went on, her instincts improved greatly as she was able to watch Sara move about the court.”
Shelhamer: “It was almost more nerve wracking being up than down as we struggled to close matches out. When we got up in the third set, we knew we had to close it out because we felt we were the better team. It was my serve and we felt like the pressure of that moment actually helped us. I feel like I’ve been the underdog from West Texas competing against the girls from Frisco so it felt different being the one on top. Our teamwork has improved greatly over the year as we’ve done a lot of work at the net and getting a better sense of where each other would be. My net play during the tournament was the strongest part of my game on the court but I also tried to stay steady and keep my emotions in check to not only help myself but Olivia.”
Hefley: “We felt the pressure to close out that final match because we had struggled doing that during the tournament but we enjoyed that moment and used the pressure to our advantage. Our communication was a big reason we were able to win. We never got down on ourselves and communicated well. I tried to be as uplifting as I could so we could stay positive and play our best tennis. As a freshman, I definitely had some nerves having never been there but it was fun also and it’s an incredible feeling to have won state.”
About Shelhamer
Favorite band or musician: Harry Styles
Favorite social media platform: Instagram
Favorite athlete: Rory McIlroy
Bet you didn’t know: She really likes watching shows and she likes to build Legos.
Parents: Bryan and Amy Shelhamer
About Hefley
Favorite band or musician: Morgan Wallen
Favorite social media platform: TikTok
Favorite athlete: Aryna Sabalenka
Bet you didn’t know: She’s a jump rope master and loves to be in the weight room.
Parents: Justin and Mireille Hefley.