Suburban Life Athlete of the Week: Riley Lepsi, Wheaton Warrenville South, tennis, freshman

Name: Riley Lepsi

School: Wheaton Warrenville South, freshman

Sport: Tennis

Why she was selected: Lepsi won the DuKane Conference No. 1 singles championship, leading Wheaton Warrenville South to the team title, to improve her record to 23-1 on the season. She was selected the Athlete of the Week in an online vote. Here is her Q&A with Joshua Welge.

Welge: How do you feel about your season so far? Besides conference, any highlights?

Lepsi: Aside from all the tennis, the team aspect has been the best thing I have ever experienced. [WW South] coach Patti [Clousing] is awesome, the girls were super welcoming, especially to me being a freshman. They are super supportive and fun to be around. They made tennis very fun for me.

Welge: Some very talented tennis players choose to not play high school tennis (Lepsi is ranked No. 45 among freshmen nationwide and the No. 1 freshman in Illinois by tennisrecruiting.net). What made you decide to do it?

Lepsi: It was definitely a long conversation with my coach and parents figuring out what was best. I wanted to try it. I knew some of the girls already. They seemed fun to be around. Tennis was getting very individual and I wanted to try to be a part of a team. I wanted to do something different and I loved it and it’s been great. I will probably definitely do it next year.

Welge: I heard that you started tennis at 3 years old. Do you even remember that?

Lepsi: I do, actually. I remember my dad, every single day, we would go out and he would hit me balls. That’s what I kind of remember about it.

Welge: When did you realize that you were pretty good at it, competitively?

Lepsi: I was in two other sports, basketball and soccer, and I would find myself trying to go to tennis. I would be more interested in tennis and wanted to play more. I won some big tournaments when I was younger and it skyrocketed from there.

Welge: How much of an influence was your aunt (Margie Lepsi, who was a two-time singles state champion at Lyons Township).

Lepsi: Heavily an influence. She was like, ‘You should put your girls in the sport.’ She heavily influenced both me and my sister.

Welge: What’s your outside practice schedule like?

Lepsi: I go to school for four periods, leave at 10:45 to go to my club at Rush Copley. Practice starts at noon and like today it went until 7 p.m. It is a lot of hitting, individual hitting, hitting with other girls, lessons, some fitness.

Welge: Is there a pro player that you look up to?

Lepsi: I have always loved Serena Williams. On the circuit right now, Aryna Sabalenka. There is something about her. She’s very powerful. I enjoy watching her play.