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06/20/2019 12:00 AMAmanda Gage recently completed her third season with the Branford girls’ tennis team and had her best year yet as a junior this spring. After playing doubles her first two years, Amanda moved up to the No. 2 singles position and posted a record of 7-7 to win the Most Improved Singles Player Award for the Hornets. Branford went 13-9 as a team and made states for the first time in several seasons.
“Every day over the summer, I would go outside and go to the park and hit a tennis ball against a wall for hours. I worked my hardest, because I knew I wanted to be one of the people my teammates could count on to win,” Amanda says. “I always want to be there for my team.”
Head Coach Jim Cole says that Amanda was a pleasant surprise with her play at No. 2 singles. Amanda held down the spot all year and kept getting better as the season progressed.
“She did much better than I thought, and so I kept her there. Her matches were getting closer, and then she started winning them and got in the habit of winning. It was remarkable,” says Cole. “Amanda is a fearless competitor. She plays hard, fair, and tough, and that’s what we stand for.”
Amanda’s competitive fire was constantly on display during her matches. Even when times were tough, Amanda believed that she could beat the odds and pull off a victory. In the qualifying round of the Class M State Tournament, Amanda earned a 6-4, 6-0 win in the No. 2 singles match to help Branford defeat Maloney by a 6-1 score.
“Every time I would think I was going to break down and lose a bunch of points, I would try to bring myself back up and get points back,” Amanda says. “In our first round of states, I didn’t know if I was going to win or lose, because the girl I played against was very good, but in the end, I really overcame it and won.”
Aside from tennis, Amanda is a horseback rider who’s also going to be competing on the national stage in underwater hockey. The sport, also known as Octopush, is played with two teams of seven as the sides try to push a weighted puck across the bottom of a swimming pool into the opposing team’s goal using a hockey stick. Amanda started playing the sport in Stratford with her father Deryl
“You have a mask, snorkel, fins, and a hockey stick that’s about a foot long. You have to dive under water and move the puck to the other side to score a goal,” says Amanda. “It’s extremely intense, and it has gotten my fitness level extremely high up.”
Amanda has been playing Octopush for seven years, typically competing at pools in Stratford and Groton. In 2021, Amanda will be suiting up for Team USA’s U-19 squad.
“I’ve been training hard, and I tried out for the U-19 girls’ underwater hockey team. I made it at a tryout in Denver, so I’m officially on the team,” Amanda says. “We’ll be competing with 30 other countries.”
While she’s training in the pool, Amanda is also looking forward to a big senior year on the tennis court at Branford. Amanda is excited that the Hornets will have everyone on the roster returning for the 2020 campaign.
“For our future, everything is going to be crazy,” says Amanda. “All of us are going to be seniors, and we’re going to be stronger than ever.”