Kelly Courts Success West Valley Senior Stars On Tennis Team, In Classroom

West Valley senior Patti Kelly is among the best tennis players the Frontier League has to offer.

But there is a lot more to Kelly than tennis. She has her priorities neatly in order.

Besides being the No. 1 singles player for the Eagles, Kelly has a 4.0 grade-point average and has been accepted to Boston University, the University of Washington, Northeastern University, Auburn and South Carolina.

She’s also a cheerleader for the Eagles and has a part-time job at a pharmacy.

“She’s one of the most mature high school students I’ve ever seen,” West Valley tennis coach Julie Scott said. “She’s got an all-around good head on her shoulders.”

And she has a great smile to boot. Instead of participating in the Frontier’s district tournament last year, she opted to have her braces removed.

Considering Kelly’s life is spent on the run, maybe it’s natural that she play tennis. But at the same time, tennis ability certainly didn’t come naturally.

“I played in junior high, but that was nothing,” Kelly said. “Our coaches told us to go out and hit balls, and viola, I thought I was a tennis player.”

That lasted until Scott got hold of her.

“She totally changed the way I was playing,” Kelly said. “She changed my serve, everything. I’ve gotten a lot better. She’s taught me how to play tennis.”

As a junior, Kelly was Scott’s No. 2 player, and played some No. 1.

On Saturday, Kelly came out and domi nated Pullman’s Milena Lilles, 7-5, 6-0, in a complete turnaround from last year.

“Milena worked Patty pretty handily last year,” Scott said. “Her game has just evolved so much. She has developed more skills and more shots.

“She’s worked with me and made an effort to play year-round instead of during the practice months,” Scott said.

Neither player nor coach is looking too far down the road to the state tournament, but Scott believes that if Kelly continues to progress at the same rate, a trip to state wouldn’t be out of the question.

“I’m just shooting for a good record,” Kelly said. “I just want to work hard.”

And no has ever accused her of not doing that.