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Cottonwood Heights Journal

Freshman tennis phenom takes training and the game seriously

Oct 01, 2022 06:20PM ● By Jerry Christensen

By Jerry Christensen | [email protected]

Brighton tennis has produced many talented athletes over its 52-year history. It has claimed dozens of state championships in both boys and girls tennis. Even among the many excellent Brighton tennis players, every once in a while a bright young star emerges. Such is the case Avery Olsen, a freshman playing in the No. 1 spot, first varsity, who bested all the other first varsity players in Region 6 and earned the title of region champion.

“I have known about Avery and her tennis talent since was about 10 years old. I have been waiting for years for her to become old enough to attend Brighton High School and play for our team,” said Brighton tennis coach Natalie Meyer.

Olsen just turned 14 in June and has become Brighton’s freshman phenom on the tennis courts.

Her mother, Kristy, recounts Olsen’s migration toward and embrace of tennis. “From an early age Avery’s passion was dancing with her sister Kalli. They danced 15-20 hours a week and loved doing it. When Avery was about 8 years old she started taking one tennis lesson a week in addition to her dance. She soon started looking forward to that one hour a week and loved it so much! When she was 9 she decided she wanted to do half of her week doing dance and the other half of her week doing tennis. By the time she was 10 all she wanted to do was play tennis and she couldn’t get enough of it, so she quit dancing and devoted all her time to tennis. Since then she trains at least 20 hours a week in tennis and travels all over the country playing tournaments. She is focused, determined and loves training, competing and all things tennis.”

Olsen has had the opportunity to compete in many of the biggest tournaments in the country. All require a high national ranking to enter. Some of the noteworthy tournaments include the Orange Bowl in Miami and the Easter Bowl. 

The 5A Utah State Tennis Tournament becomes her next focus with her favorable seeding as Region 6 champion.