Colleen O’Donnell’s goals were modest heading into her freshman season on the Waterville Senior High School girls tennis team.

“I wanted to play singles, but I didn’t really care what spot,” O’Donnell said, “and I wanted to win most of my matches.”

O’Donnell was the No. 1 singles player for Waterville all season, and she did more than win most of her matches — she won all but three: An exhibition match, a match in the Round of 48, and her match in the Class B team state finals.

Other than that, O’Donnell’s record was unblemished, and she was seeded 10th at the state singles Round of 48. For her outstanding season, O’Donnell has been named the Morning Sentinel Girls Tennis Player of the Year.

“Colleen has a strong mental game,” Waterville coach Jill Cristan said. “She just is so coachable.”

O’Donnell says she first took up tennis when she was 6 or 7, and in junior high, she competed in several tournaments in the southern part of the state. The years of play show on the court, as she always seems to remain calm during a match.

“She’s very fluid on the court,” Cristan said. “She doesn’t get stuck. She anticipates the next play very well.”

As the 10th seed in the Round of 48, O’Donnell’s first match was against Waynflete’s Kaitlyn Thompson. O’Donnell had to battle to pull out a 7-5, 6-4 win.

“She was really good, actually,” O’Donnell said. “I was looking at other people who were seeded playing the unseeded people, and their matches were 6-0, 6-1. Mine was tough.”

O’Donnell lost the next day to McAuley’s Addie Devine, 6-2, 6-3, but her season didn’t end until Waterville won the Eastern B title and lost to Falmouth in the state finals.

With O’Donnell being so good at such a young age, you might expect her to be exclusively a tennis player. In fact, she also played basketball and soccer as a freshman at Waterville, swinging between the varsity and JV in both sports.

“When I played tournaments, I always asked them if they played other sports, because I was just curious,” O’Donnell said. “They always were year-round tennis players. I was like, ‘Well, I could do that.’ But I like other sports, too.”

Cristan said she’d like to see O’Donnell — and everyone else on the Waterville team — play more in the offseason. She said the next step for O’Donnell is improving her serve and upper-body strength. As for playing year-round, O’Donnell has considered it.

“I’ve thought about maybe playing tennis more during the year, so I could be better,” she said with a laugh, “but it never happens.”

Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243

mdifilippo@centralmaine.com

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