Geremia Finds First Year Success

   Alex Geremia stood 78 feet from her opponent on October 13^th, 2008, on the

verge of another title. But this one was different, one that would impact an entire school

and its community.

After dominating play with her ground strokes, particularly her forehand, Geremia

was ready to relax, ready to exhale.

Geremiah is ranked 6^th in New England and 1^st in Rhode Island, but for years she

has never taken a step back from United States Tennis Association tournaments in order

to play high school tennis.

Until now.

Geremia decided to play for the Lady Rebels this past fall for the first time,

dominating the Rhode Island Interscholastic League. She ran the table for girls’ tennis,

winning every match she played in straight sets. In her state final match against Bay

View sophomore Rebecca Curran, Geremia rolled to a 55-minute 6-1, 6-3 victory.

Given her immediate success, many questioned why Geremia didn’t play high

school tennis prior to her junior year.

“My sophomore year I was thinking about playing,” said Geremia, “but my

grandmother was sick and I wanted to spend as much time with her as I could.”

Geremia’s grandmother was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease before the

2007-2008 school year. After her passing, Geremia decided to play for SKHS.

“It worked out with my schedule this year, since I play at night,” she said of her

decision to partake in the team aspect of tennis.

“I’m glad she decided to play,” said SKHS senior Kyle Burke, the reigning boys

tennis individual state champion, who has practiced with Geremia numerous times.

“I knew that she was the favorite to win it all when she decided to play. She hits

with a lot of spin, and most girls don’t nowadays.”

Burke, co-captain of the boys tennis team for the second year in a row, said

Geremia’s dedication to the game is second to none.

“Her commitment to her game is one that isn’t shared by most, whether they are

boys or girls.”

As the first SKHS player to win the individual title for girls’ tennis, Geremia has

already made her mark in the history books.

  If Burke continues his dominant streak, it will also be the first time in 16 years

that both the girls and boys individual state champions are from the same school.

“I knew she was the favorite to win it all when she decided to play,” Burke said. “She hits with a lot of spin, while most girls don’t nowadays.”

One might ask how Geremia got started with tennis. The sport has been part of the

Geremia family for three generations, starting with Geremia’s grandfather.

Alex’s mother was introduced to the game as a child, and fell in love with it right

away.

“My dad started me with tennis,” said Alex’s mother. “He liked the sport and

thought I would enjoy it too.

Mrs. Geremia stuck with it, and just like her daughter, decided to play in high school her junior year.

“My dad thought it was a good sport for girls, since there really weren’t any opportunities for women to participate in athletics,” she added.

It was because of her mother’s love of the game that Alex would later be introduced to tennis.

 “My mom got me into it when I was about 4 or 5 years old, and I really liked it,” Geremia said. A few years later, the sport would get more serious for the young Geremia.

Today, Geremia spends a great deal of her time with Mario Llano, director and owner of Rhode Island Tennis Academy. Llano is known for his ability to turn players into champions.

“I first saw Alex when she was about 8 or 9 years old” said Llano.

“She was very focused and determined. But didn’t know at all what she was

doing” he added.

According to Llano, Geremia’s commitment to improve her game was the

difference.

“It was clear after just a few lessons that she was going to be a lot of fun to teach.

She was a great listener, and her improvements started right away. From then on, [her

improvements] never stopped.”

Llano and Geremia both shared a common goal, for her to become a top player in

New England. Though she hasn’t reached number one in the region, she is most

definitely on the right track.

“She is a very complete player, she has all the shots in the book,” said Llano.

“Alex is able to implement any strategy you give her, whether it’s coming to the net,

playing from the baseline, slicing and dicing, using topspin, or using a power game.”

College coaches aren’t allowed to be in contact with Geremia until January of

2009, but it seems likely that plenty of schools will be knocking on her door when the

time comes.

“She will for sure play in college,” said Llano. “The pro’s? In depends on how

good her coaching is, we’ll see.”

With one individual state championship under her belt, Geremia has a promising

future ahead. Her decision to play impacted many involved with South Kingstown

athletics, including Andy Carr, the boys tennis coach.

“I was happy to find out that she was going to play for the girls’ team,”

said Carr. “It’s such an important part of your high school career,” he added.

Carr, who has the led the boys team to 10 straight team state titles, has coached

Geremia in various tennis clinics around SK.

“I thought she would do major damage the minute I heard she was playing,” Carr

said. “She was the favorite when she made the decision to play.”

With her dominating junior year, the question remains whether or not Geremia

will return with another effort to clinch the individual title her senior year. But for now,

the champion deserves her glory.

“I wanted it to be a good experience,” said the Rebel junior. “I was really happy I

played, and I was glad to represent SK.”