CV junior hopes tennis means tuition

Kyra Harames is at that difficult, in-between age.

The No. 1 girls singles player at Central Valley turns 17 in August. In the world of junior tennis, that’s not an opportune time for a birthday.

“Right now I’m playing as a G16,” Harames said. “But once I turn 17 I have to play G18. I will try to play up as much as I can – there are some tournaments where I can do that. But Sectionals are in August and I will have to play G18 for that tournament and that’s a big one.”

That’s always a tough change. Players go from being at the top of the ladder in one age group to starting from scratch against older players.

Harames is one of a half-dozen players ranked as G16 players. Lewis and Clark’s Brooke Fager, Gonzaga Prep’s Lizzy Marcinkowski and Harames currently are ranked 31, 32 and 33.

The goal, the junior said, is to have tennis pay for her college education.

High school tennis doesn’t help much when it comes to that goal.

“College coaches don’t watch high school tennis,” Harames said. “To get a college coach’s attention you have to contact them and arrange for them to come watch you.”

That’s a shame. Harames is in her third year as the No. 1 singles player at CV and the Lady Bears are off to a strong start to the Greater Spokane League season.

Harames only loss came against Shadle Park’s Audra Spargo, currently ranked No. 55, in three tough sets.

“That was a good match,” Harames said. “I’ve known her for a long time. We used to practice together.”

And that, she said, could be a problem.

“I have trouble playing against my friends,” she said. “It’s hard for me to find that edge when I’m playing a friend.”

That caused a bit of a problem in Harames’ freshman season.

After playing No. 1 singles all season, she reached the district tournament’s semifinal match. So did CV teammates Abby Petersen, who had stepped up during the season to fill in at No. 2 singles.

Peterson won the match and advanced to the finals.

“It is so much easier for me when it’s not a friend on the other side of the net,” she said.

Tennis started out as a family affair.

“My whole family plays tennis,” she explained. “We used to all go out and hit together. I fell in love with the game and wanted to take it more seriously.”

Taking the game seriously is a full-time gig these days. High school tennis, tennis lessons and junior tennis all start to blur together. Free time? That’s in short supply.

“It’s a lot of work,” Harames said. “Sometimes it takes some negotiating to make it all come together, and sometimes it takes some compromising.

“During the summer, my practices are a lot longer than they are with the high school team. And I always have Fridays off so I can enter tournaments. There aren’t a lot of tournaments in Spokane, so that means traveling to most of them. Portland has quite a few, so I play there quite a bit.”

Last year that hard work paid off with a trip to Dallas for the zonal tournament – and she has a return trip booked for this summer.

“Texas in the middle of summer is very interesting,” Harames laughed. “It is hot.”

Harames has some specific goals for the current season.

“The thing I want to work on is maintaining my focus,” she said. “I want to improve my mental game. Reminding myself of what I’m playing for, getting a college education, helps me get there.”