Sports

Coginchaug's Frank Finishes Perfect Season, Looks Ahead to Shoreline Tournament

The Blue Devils' top player is looking to win her first Shoreline Conference tennis championship.

Coginchaug's Melanie Frank will enter the Shoreline Conference tournament as the number one seeded girls' tennis player.

It's a familiar place for the Blue Devils' top player who happens to be one of the conference's best.

Frank, a junior, finished the regular season a perfect 16-0, dispatching all of her first singles opponents while mentoring a young Coginchaug team to a 5-13 mark.

"When I was a freshman I came onto the scene pretty nervous. There were some pretty amazing seniors and juniors and they made me feel pretty welcome. So, I try to use what they taught me," said Frank, who's been the team's top singles player her entire high school career.

Last year, Frank lost only one match in the regular season before falling in the finals of the Shoreline Conference tournament. This year she hopes to continue her unbeaten streak.

"It's pretty awesome. I play all year round so it's nice to have hard work paying off," she said.

Frank is scheduled to play her first match shortly after 8 a.m. Wednesday in Old Lyme. The tournament will wrap up on Thursday, with the Class S state tournament scheduled to begin this weekend.

Frank is a member of the Guilford Racquet Club has been playing competitively since she was 13 years old. She picked up tennis as a youngster from her father and other family members.

"Tennis is really fun," she said.

"My family is really supportive. My dad especially because he plays, he's always there. My mom is always there. My siblings are always calling me up cheering me on," she said.

"To have such a support system there is so great," she added.

Despite the Blue Devils' inexperience on the court, Frank said other teams have been complimentary towards the team and the sportsmanship of the players.

As for her tennis future, Frank plans to focus more on academics in college.

"I'm not going to play tennis in college, a club team maybe. I'm a very academic person, it's very important to me," she said.

When the season is over though, Frank will return to her home away from home, the Guilford Racquet Club.

"That's my favorite place in the entire world. I spend as much time as I can there. I work there, my coach is great, I have so many friends there. It's made a big impact," she said.

Her favorite male tennis player is the recently retired Andy Roddick and she enjoys watching Caroline Wozniacki on the women's side. When she's not playing or watching tennis, Frank enjoys hanging out with friends and reading.

"Normal stuff and just playing tennis. That's so much of my life," she said.


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