Middle Ga. State building tennis team with Eagles

Making a choice to stick together and dive into a new collegiate athletic venture, three members of the Northside High School tennis program became the first players ever to sign college scholarships for the upcoming team at Middle Georgia State College.

A brother and sister pair, Nate and Shelby Ashley, along with Tricia Whorton joined their teammates, Northside coach Richard Turner and family for the ceremony with representatives from the school that is now a merged institution from both Middle Georgia College and Macon State. Tennis for men and women will be offered intercollegiately there for the first time in the 2013-14 school year, and school representatives say for that season the program will compete in the NJCAA while playing and practicing in Cochran.

All three, who were undefeated as singles players this past season, look no further than their own households for their introduction to the sport of tennis. There are four siblings total in the Ashley family with two older twin brothers who also played on the courts for the Eagles. They are natives of Pittsburgh.

Tricia Whorton is the daughter of Lisa and John Whorton. She said it was her father who got her going when she was 12 years old.

“I’ve taken a couple of lessons here and there, done some tournaments,” said Whorton. “I think when I started high school is when I really started to get serious, and I’ve gotten better ever since. I took it more seriously, got more into it, wanted to practice all the time.”

Before, Whorton admits that practicing tennis was something she entered reluctantly or half-heartedly. Now she can be seen practicing three times or more a week.

“Probably my backhand is what I got the best at,” she said. “Usually that’s the most difficult thing for people to get the hang of. That was the easiest for me.

“I would say my serve has gotten faster and stronger. I’ve been able to add some things to it to get my opponent to mess up when they try to return it.”

Whorton’s tournament experience doesn’t go beyond Georgia, most of which would be at the John Drew Smith Center in Macon. As a career highlight, she looks at her high school matches and team wins against rival Houston County High.

“Now is a big highlight,” said Whorton. “Getting to sign with Nate and Shelby. We’ve been good friends since freshman year. It’s been a blessing to sign with them our senior year.

“Before the tennis scholarship even got into the picture, I was going (to Middle Georgia State) to do my core classes. I ended up getting offered a scholarship, so that’s icing on the cake. Now I get to play tennis, something I love, with two great friends of mine.”

As the high school season is over for Northside and the summer looms, Whorton plans to pick up on her practice schedule with her father and the Ashleys to get her game ready for the college level. She plans to study early childhood education and become a schoolteacher.

The Ashleys were also introduced to tennis by their father Paul when they were 3 years old. They moved to Warner Robins from western Pennsylvania just over a decade ago.

“It’s warmer here, definitely,” said Nate. “Back in Pittsburgh, it was more of a tennis community than down here.”

“I liked the cold weather sometimes,” said Shelby. “I don’t miss it too much. It’s a little too hot down here, but I learned to adapt.”

“I try to stay aggressive the whole entire time I’m playing,” said Nate, who sees his serve as his greatest asset. “I try to make my opponent work for the shot. I try to put pace on the ball, play smart. It’s a mind game, too.”

As a sophomore, Nate and his two brothers were the Northside singles players that reached the Elite 8 of the GHSA state tournament. He was actually in the No. 2 spot with Jeremy Ashley playing No. 1 and Andrew playing No. 3. Nate said it was a solid effort from all of them that got the team that far.

“We always played against each other,” said Nate. “What I learned from Jeremy is probably the smarter part of the game. What I learned from Andrew is being patient, play the ball back and forth.”

“(Shelby) likes to hit the ball as hard as she can no matter what,” said Nate. “She taught me how to not hit the ball as hard as I want all the time.”

“It’s been a joy growing up playing with my three brothers,” said Shelby. “It’s been very competitive, very fun, very encouraging. Sometimes it was a little bumpy because I was always the weakest link. But they always made me want to do better.

“If you’re the weakest link, nobody wants to hit with you. My dad always told me I could do things, though. I got better.”

The Ashleys also took lessons at the Donald Young Academy at Wesleyan College in Macon.

“I describe myself as a fighter,” said Shelby, Northside’s No. 1 this spring. “Power player. I like to hit the ball with a lot of pace. I don’t like topspin too much. I tend not to worry about the last point. Just keep moving. Every point is a new point.

“My strength I would say is ground strokes. I like to hit cross court and inside-out shots.

“Serena Williams is my goddess of tennis. She’s always been what I wanted to be when I was a little girl.”

Unfortunately, Shelby hasn’t seen her idol play live.

Her own career highlights were her unbeaten seasons as a high school sophomore and senior and playing in the state field as a junior. This past season was marred by illnesses, she said, but added that it never stopped them from competing. She also wants to take the positive attitude her team had with her to college.

“It’s going to be different, definitely,” said Nate about getting into college tennis. He not only plans to get into USTA events, but also work out more in the weight room. “It’s going to tougher, but I’ll rise to the occasion and try to knock it out.”

Nate’s academic goal is to study mechanical engineering.

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