Big comeback vs. chief rival Valpo should serve freshman tennis player Kendall Gallion well throughout her promising Chesterton tennis career

Tom Keegan
Onwardtrojans.com

The Chesterton girls tennis team had another strong week in DAC play, defeating Valparaiso 4-1 and Portage 5-0, banking on dominant doubles play and No. 1 singles player Kenzie Kania winning.
But the best thing to happen during the week in terms of long-term implications just might have been that No. 3 singles player Kendall Gallion didn’t let a rough start to her match ruin her day.
Down 5-1 in the first set against Valparaiso, Gallion rallied to win that set and the match 7-5, 2-6, 6-1.
For a freshman to fall that far behind and come back to win the set, and then the match, against the school’s chief rival in what to date was the biggest match of her high school career, is a memory that can fuel her every time she falls behind. The previous week, Gallion had lost a three-set match in Chesterton’s 4-1 win over LaPorte, so to win one in three sets made it a confidence boost in another way as well.
“I was just thinking to myself when I was down anything’s possible, I can always come back,” Gallion said. ““It was basically one point after one point. I tried not to think about losing the set.”
That was sound self-talk during a tough spot, and now tha it worked, the talk will carry even more credibility next time for the freshman with the powerful serve.
Making the varsity tennis squad at Chesterton is tough for juniors and seniors, even more so, obviously, for freshmen.
“I was kind of like making the lineup up in my head in the summer, but I didn’t really care if I made varsity or not,” Gallion said. “I just cared about being with the girls and the team.”
Senior Elana Clark filled the No. 3 varsity singles spot in the shutout of Portage on a day Gallion gained doubles experience during the Trojans’ 11-0 JV win over Portage. Gallion and Genevieve Driscoll won their No. 1 doubles match 4-0, 4-0.
The Trojans resume their DAC schedule with a tough one, traveling to Crown Point on Tuesday to take on a Bulldogs team that has had talented Ana Baron at No. 1 singles for all four years of her career.